Most Wanted
by Ephemeral Lunatic
Summary: AU. On January 9th, 1999, Castle saves Johanna Beckett from being murdered. His act of bravery sparks a complicated love with her daughter, and a totally different life and career path for Kate Beckett. Because although Johanna lived, someone out there still wants her dead, and as the years go by, Kate Beckett and Richard Castle are determined to find out who.
1. Chapter 1

Researching alone uptown was a bad idea. He'd thought about it before he entered the pub—a place called "The Dog's Breakfast", which only yielded rather irritated glares and unnerving glances about his person from the unscrupulous patrons inside—but after he left to go wander the streets, the cold chill down his spine made him realize it even more.

Bad idea. Terrible.

_Really, what were you thinking, Rick?_ It was time to catch a cab and head back to SoHo, pronto.

If he never came anywhere near this area of the city again, he'd be much better for it. Physically and mentally. He was certain of it.

Dusk was in full swing as he walked the streets. What little sunlight there was left on this side of New York City was barely peeking out from behind the buildings in the vicinity, and he hunched his shoulders to ward off the January chill. Winter had only barely begun and he was already longing to get out of his trench coats and heavy jackets and back into a t-shirt and a pair of nice jeans.

Maybe he'd whisk Alexis off to somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere for a week or so after he met his next writing deadline. She couldn't possibly miss very much learning during a single week of Kindergarten, could she? Especially being as smart as his little pumpkin was. Alexis had probably been able to spell just about every word on even the entire first grade curriculum's spelling tests since she was four years old anyway. And she was a good counter. They'd been trying out multiplication recently and she was somewhat getting the hang of her times tables. Such a smart kid he had. Way smarter than he ever was at her age. Richard Castle had done a lot of dumb things in his life, especially the past few years—including tonight's ill-advised little romp in the Heights—but he'd never regret having his daughter, no matter how young and unprepared he was, or how his marriage to her mother inevitably ended in shambles.

Despite everything that had happened though, he still felt so very blessed to have his little girl.

Just as the thought of the look in his daughter's eyes upon telling her about missing a week of school—because really, his kid would either shed a tear over the prospect of missing even a day of her precious schooling, or chide him for trying to make her play hooky—he spotted the guy in the corner of his eye.

Tall, clean cut looking. Not a guy you'd typically find out here, especially not at this time of the night.

The crime rate had gotten better over here in the past ten years, but he could still remember the time a rookie cop, who was not much younger than he was right now, was gunned down by Dominican drug dealers. If an armed cop wasn't safe in this neighborhood, a well-dressed, unarmed individual certainly wasn't either. It was the reason why, aside from his jacket, Castle dressed down a bit himself this evening in order to fit in.

But _this _guy. He was standing out like a sore thumb.

What was his deal?

By the time Castle shifted his line of sight and looked ahead of the strange, out-of-place man, he was almost too late to stop it.

Well, he _was _too late.

The well-dressed man reached into his coat pocket, brandishing a knife of some sort. It was hard to tell from the distance he was at, but make or model was furthest from Castle's mind considering the man wielding a knife was headed straight for a woman on the other side of the street. Her attention elsewhere on the alley she was in, she didn't realize a thing was amiss, totally caught up in whatever it was that she was doing.

"Hey! Stop! Hey lady, look out!" Castle screamed, charging forward as fast as his legs would carry him.

But it was too late. The woman turned, her eyes widening when she realized the danger she was in, but she was helpless to avoid the threat at such a close range. The man swung forward and his knife plunged into her abdomen. She stood stunned for a second, three at most, before the man pulled the knife from her body. She dropped to the ground immediately, her legs buckling under her as she clutched a hand at her wound.

Castle screamed at the top of his lungs then, startling the guy into a panic, and everyone within shouting distance of the neighborhood became alerted to the ruckus outside their windows. From the corner of his eye, Castle could see a broken bottle lying on the ground and without a second's hesitation, he grabbed it and lunged for the woman's attacker. The man evaded the swing with the finesse of a trained combatant, and Castle instead went flying right with the momentum of it. The bottle shattered upon impact against the nearby wall, cutting his hand in the process, and Castle found himself hissing at the sensation of pain.

"Hey, what's going on down there?"

The gruff voice of a passerby's inquiry shifted Castle's attention momentarily, and it was enough of a distraction for the assailant to slip away and make his escape. He took off down the street, disappearing around a corner.

"That guy just stabbed her!" Castle shouted back at the older man as he approached. "Help me!"

He pointed down at the woman on the ground for emphasis, but the man simply looked down at her, hesitant at first, disbelieving, until he saw that she was crumpled on the floor in a pool of her own blood. He stumbled backward, mumbling something about Castle needing to call 911 as he backed away quickly, and Castle shook his head in frustration.

Typical. No one in these parts ever wanted to get involved because they're too damn scared of consequences if it is anything related to one of the local gangs or drug lords. They'd just hole themselves up in their apartments and look the other way.

Cowards, the lot of them. Too afraid to save an innocent woman for fear of retaliation.

"Ma'am, just hang on, okay?" Castle said, trying to reassure her. He knelt down next to her and shuffled around in the pocket of his trench coat with his hand. "I'm calling 911 right now."

Thank God for mobile phones. He had just upgraded to one of the new Nokia models. It had three games on it and he no longer had to pull out an antenna when he was making a call. Bless advancements in technology.

"My family," the woman rasped, her voice weak, strained. "They're waiting for me...at the restaurant."

Castle felt sick looking at the blood seeping out of her from beneath her hands, coating her clothing and pooling on the ground, and he had to swallow back the bile rising in his throat when the 911 operator picked up and asked what his emergency was. He explained the situation in a rush of words the best that he could.

"Her name? Uh, her name is..." Shit, he didn't even know her name. Didn't even think to ask in his panic.

"Johanna," she provided for him then, without even needing to be asked. Good. That was good right? She was coherent, following along. It had to be good. "Johanna Beckett."

He repeated her name for the 911 operator and rattled off their approximate location, but the brave soul crumpled on the ground beneath him was so much stronger than he was right then. She calmly gave him the exact address, easily speaking it from memory and then she smiled at him as if trying to provide _him _some comfort in the situation.

It broke his heart.

He was instructed to compress the wound, and didn't even think twice about sacrificing his own coat in order to do so. Clothing could be replaced. This woman's life could not.

"They'll be here in five minutes, Johanna. Please hang on."

She nodded her head, and then she was nodding in the direction of his cell phone, where it clattered to the ground at his feet after he'd ended the call.

"My husband and daughter. They're waiting for me, at the restaurant. Please."

She wanted him to...call her family? Oh. Oh god.

Sirens wailed in the distance as he dialed the number she gave him with shaky fingers, and the phone rang and rang. It went to voicemail.

"H-hello. This is...my name is Rick Castle. I'm with your wife. She's been hurt and the ambulance is on it's way right now."

"Tell them not to worry," she rasped, and he couldn't believe it. She was almost laughing. "I'll be fine," she said.

It made Castle's voice lilt slightly, his words coming out on a nervous laugh.

"I don't know if you heard that but she said don't worry."

"He always worries, that husband of mine," the woman went on. "But Katie. Katie will take care of him. She's a strong girl. Always such a brave, strong girl."

Katie. She had a daughter named Katie.

Oh god. If she didn't make it, her daughter would lose her mom. Meredith was never around for Alexis anymore but that was different. At least she was still alive. She still visited on the rare occasion.

But if this woman died, she'd never have another moment with her daughter again.

A sick sense of dread overcame him when he realized that these very well could be the woman's last words to her family if she didn't make it. So, Castle hung up, and redialed the number.

He needed to get through to her family before it was too late.

"Come on. Come on..." But the phone would only ring and ring and Johanna murmured something about her husband always missing calls because he'd forget to take his phone off silent mode when he left work. It made her laugh again and really, this woman. Did she not realize the state she was in? So selfless. Thinking about everyone else but herself when her life was now hanging in the balance.

The sirens grew closer.

"You said 'Castle' before. You're famous, aren't you? Castle. Richard Castle."

"I um...I'm a novelist," he replied, his ear to the phone, listening as it rang and rang some more, unanswered.

"Hmm. The handsome, bad boy mystery novelist all the young girls are fawning over these days."

He chuckled nervously and rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. How this woman could even find the strength to carry on a conversation with a knife wound in her stomach while he himself felt like he was going to black out was beyond him at this point. "Yeah. Yeah, that's me."

"You'll have to sign a book for me later. I'd like that."

"Oh. Sure."

Johanna coughed and he pressed a little more on the wound as if stopping the blood from rushing out would somehow alleviate her coughing fit. God, he couldn't think straight. He was scared out of his mind.

Finally, after what felt to him like an eternity, the ambulance arrived.

Johanna stayed conscious the whole ride to the hospital, holding Castle's hand and assuring him that she'd be fine as the paramedic worked on her.

"I'll sign everything in your house, Johanna, whatever you like, if it means you'll stay alive to see it," Castle offered, hoping to get a smile out of her.

She didn't disappoint. He was rewarded with the upward tilt of her lips in a tiny smile. "Deal."

It wasn't until she was wheeled off to an operating room that he finally reached her husband.

It was the most difficult phone call he'd ever had to make in his life.

* * *

_This is my first time ever diving into alternate universe fic, and writing anything with Johanna Beckett alive, or Castle and Beckett meeting in the past. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous to see how it will be received by readers. I started this in December and I'm really invested in it, but I've gotten to the point of craving feedback on what's been written so far. Your reviews are much appreciated so that I know people are actually enjoying it and want more. Please let me know what you think._


	2. Chapter 2

When a middle-aged man and young woman came bursting through the lobby doors of New York Presbyterian Hospital, Castle's first thought was that the man could possibly be Johanna Beckett's husband. The guy was dressed casually, but sporting an Omega Speedmaster Professional on his left wrist—a sure sign of wealth if Castle ever saw one. Johanna had mentioned to the paramedic while in the back of the ambulance that she worked as a civil rights attorney. If her husband held a similarly affluent sort of job, it would definitely explain the high-end watch. Those things weren't cheap at all. He would know.

The girl, however...he couldn't imagine that they'd have a daughter this girl's age. Now, he didn't exactly catch a look at her face, and it was currently obscured by a fake Christmas tree still sitting out near the reception desk, but she was tall. Probably would stand taller than the man beside her if those long legs of hers didn't end with a pair of Converse and were instead sporting some strappy heels.

Okay, eyes off the legs, Rick. Snap out of it and focus.

Really though, Johanna had to be somewhere in her forties, right? And this girl—what he could see of her, anyway—well, admittedly he'd never been very good at the whole guessing ages thing, and as such knew much better than to presume a woman's age, thanks mostly in part to awkward situations with his own mother and the company of theatre divas she called friends. He used to guess and ask the ages of those ladies when he was a kid, and it never once ended well for him...

But, okay, he was stupidly presuming ages again and at first glance, the girl looked much too old to be the daughter that Johanna had spoken of. Or maybe Johanna was older than he thought she was. Hell, he had no clue.

Once he heard the name "Johanna Beckett" slip out of the man's mouth at the reception desk though, he had to figure that Johanna either looked really young for her age, or her daughter's height and maybe even the way she was dressed—black leather jacket, skinny dark wash denim jeans, and dark brown hair tossed up into a messy bun—just made her seem older.

Because after the nurse asked them to wait a moment, and as Castle stood up and called out to them, the girl turned and he saw her face for the first time and god, she was gorgeous. But young, definitely still young, with the face of an angel.

Breathtaking though. She was simply breathtaking.

He'd only managed an "Excuse me, sir" before he stumbled on his words from the way the beautiful specimen of the female gender now stared him down, eyeing him strangely. Was it...did she recognize him, or was she just gaping at him because her mother was off God knows where in this hospital right now?

"I...you're..." Geez, Rick, pull yourself together. "You're her family. Johanna Beckett's."

"Yes," the man replied. "Johanna's my wife. I'm Jim. Jim Beckett. And you're...?"

"I- Rick. My name is Rick. I called you. She asked me to call you."

Jim looked him over warily and Castle felt severely uncomfortable with the scrutiny until _her _voice broke through the tension.

"You saved her? My mom."

Oh. Oh, it matched her face perfectly, the soft, angelic tone of her words, even if they were broken and laced with fear and worry. The face and voice of an angel, this girl.

The fatherly side of him almost wanted to grab her and hug her and assure her that her mother would pull through. But this girl had her own father here and her eyes held a fire inside. She might be young but she was strong. He could see that, and that's what her mother said, wasn't it? That she was strong. Vulnerable, terribly scared right now, but strong. It made him think of his own daughter, how she might feel were he rushed to the hospital and she was unsure of his condition. She was only five but Alexis was such a smart kid. So intelligent and intuitive...Alexis would be okay, right? And she'd have his mother there. Like this little family. Johanna had a little family just like he did, too.

"I tried to-" Shit. No. That sounded horrific. Like he was about to tell them that she'd already been declared deceased. The girl—Katie. That's what Johanna said her name was—looked stricken at his initial words, and it scared him. He didn't want her to cry. He wouldn't know what to do if he made her cry, so he hastily tried to explain and could only hope that the words rushing out of his mouth were sufficient.

"I saw him sneak up on her and I didn't think- But he had a knife and I wasn't fast enough. He still struck her but I called 911 and she made me call you. She begged me to call and I'm sorry. They took her back to surgery and I'm so sorry."

Johanna's husband swallowed hard at a lump in his throat and it was easy to see the tears of gratitude welled up in his eyes. His head nodded and he threw out his hand to grasp Castle's, his grip firm in a strong handshake. It stung beneath the bandage the EMT gave him after fixing him up, the cut across his hand a painful reminder of the evening's events, but he didn't care. This was far more important. The least he could do was be here for this woman's family while she was fighting for her life.

"Thank you, Rick. I can't tell you how grateful I am for what you've done."

Castle wasn't entirely sure how to respond. _'No problem' _or _'Was my pleasure'_ would have been both wildly inappropriate and a total lie. He had been terrified. But he couldn't just stand there and do nothing. If he had, this man would have lost his wife. Their daughter would have lost her mother. A tragedy like that would wreck havoc on such a little family. Their lives would be forever changed and never the same again with such a gaping wound inflicted upon them. It was a void you could never refill.

But all Castle could manage through the thoughts swirling in his head was a simple nod of his head, a recognition of the man's gratitude for his act of bravery tonight.

Oh, how he wished none of it had happened at all though. He'd take back his moment of heroism and any glory the media was sure to lavish on him once word got out to the press, if only so that this girl—Katie. Her name is Katie, Rick—wouldn't look so sad and scared.

"Mr. Beckett?" came the voice of the nurse at the reception desk and immediately the man turned his attention to her. His daughter followed suit, but not without a lingering look and a simple question thrown over her shoulder first.

"You're staying?"

Castle's throat bobbed, but he didn't even think about it before answering.

"Yes."

She nodded her head in what he hoped was a show of approval, and the beautiful young woman followed after her father.

* * *

He sat across from her in the waiting room but got up and settled down beside her when her father headed down the hall to grab a coffee. He had shared a glance with the older man as Jim stood up and announced where he was going, and Castle understood the message loud and clear: _Look after her for me._

She'd been shaking like a leaf in her chair since a doctor came out to update them on Johanna's condition a little while before. She was trying to hide it by bouncing her leg up and down on the ball of her foot, as if it was just a sign of restlessness from too much sitting, but he saw through the gesture. She was nervous, and she had every right to be. Her mother was just stabbed in a seedy alleyway in a shady part of the city barely an hour ago and surgeons were still working to repair the damage she had sustained.

But Johanna Beckett's daughter seemed much like her mother. Fierce and brave in the face of unspeakable tragedy. He hadn't even seen her shed a tear yet, even if he had seen her eyes glistening a few times before she stubbornly willed the moisture away, never allowing even a single tear drop to fall. It was a stark contrast to the emotions he'd watched her father go through since they'd arrived. Jim had struck him as a quiet, very sensitive sort of fellow, and his daughter appeared so, too, in some ways. The only difference being she didn't willingly show any sign of weakness. She kept her emotions in check at every turn and she didn't flinch. At all.

"Your name is Katie, right? She told me she had a daughter named Katie. Is that you?"

Or maybe she only flinched under the right circumstances. Wow. She seemed surprised to find him speaking to her. Shocked that he knew her name.

"I- Yeah. But I um...I go by Kate, mostly."

_Kate_. Yeah. He could see that. It suited her better.

"Kate then. Well, it's nice to meet you, Kate Beckett. I'm—"

"I know who you are, Mr. Castle," she replied quickly, and if he wasn't mistaken, there was a slight flush of her cheeks to boot just before she ducked her head. Adorable. So...she was a fan of his? Then again, she could have just seen him in the papers. God knows he'd had his share of public displays of stupidity recently.

"I hope my reputation precedes me for something good I've written and nothing questionable I've done," he said back with a nervous grin, and lo and behold...a smile. She gave him a beautiful upturn of her lips. No teeth, but he'd take it. It was a step in the right direction.

"Maybe a little of both," she admitted, smile still firmly in place. "You're the star of Page Six recently."

Ah. Well, as much as he'd love to blame it on catching now ex-wife Meredith in bed with her director and their ensuing divorce, that was almost a year ago now, and their divorce was made final two months ago. No one left to blame but himself for his recent antics and stupidity landing his mug in the papers. Or behind bars for the night.

"So, dare I ask, are you a fan of my works of fiction...or a follower of other nonfiction I've been involved in?"

And there was the tinge of pink on her cheeks again, this time coupled with her sliding a loose lock of hair that had escaped her bun behind her ear. God, she was really cute.

"My mom gave me a couple of your books when I left for Stanford in the fall," she said quietly, a little shy even.

So that was how Johanna knew him. She'd bought some of his books for Kate. He hoped her shyness about his books meant that she liked them. And Stanford? So she wasn't _that _young. She was in college. A freshman then? May as well ask.

"Wow. Stanford, huh? That's pretty far away. Your first year there?" Kate nodded and god, even if she was an adult, he still felt like an old man in comparison. There had to be at least a decade of an age gap between them if she was only a college freshman. His college days were long behind him now.

"I've read them both, by the way. They were good."

And then the tables turned. She had him feeling a little nervous and exposed. Why did her approval strike so much feeling within him?

"Which ones?"

"Flowers For Your Grave and Hell Hath No Fury."

He startled her with his bark of laughter and had to quickly apologize when he saw her frowning. Geez, even the irritated furrow of her brow was cute.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just that usually 'good' and Hell Hath No Fury don't usually go in the same sentence when people are talking about that particular book of mine."

Kate appeared thoughtful for a moment and shifted in her seat a little. When did her leg stop that nervous bounce anyway?

"I liked it," she huffed quietly, and dare he think it, but she seemed a little defensive about it, too. Wow. She liked one of his books that much?

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. Thank you, Miss Beckett," he smiled.

She frowned at him again.

"I don't mind being called Beckett, but if you're gonna address me by my surname, at least drop the 'Miss'. I'm not a little kid, Mr. Castle."

Oh. Well then. She had a bit of a feisty side to her, didn't she?

"Yeah? Well, 'Mr. Castle' makes me feel old. I'm only twenty-nine, I'll have you know."

"Well, I'm nineteen. That _is_ old."

"Ouch. You wound me, Lady Beckett."

She laughed heartily at his horrible attempt at a regal, British accent before suggesting, "How about we just drop the honorifics altogether, huh?"

"As you wish," he replied, his terrible accent even thicker this time.

"And the accents!" she said on another little laugh, and this time when she smiled, she was beaming. Radiantly. Teeth showing, cheeks uplifted. The works.

It made him grin wildly.

She was amazing, this girl. So bright and young and witty. And cute. So cute. And that smile, her laugh. Happiness looked so much better on her than that mask of fear and uncertainty she'd been concealed behind only moments before. He wanted to keep the radiant smile on her, and bottle up some of her happiness so that she'd never be sad again.

"Katie," her father called out to her, his voice harsh, and it's only then that the pair realized that he must have been calling out to her several times before that and they hadn't noticed a thing. Lost in their little bubble of conversation.

"Sorry, Dad," she apologized sheepishly to her father.

Jim was standing by a door a little ways away from the reception desk and waving her over, and his daughter somewhat jumped in her seat with the realization that her mother must be out of surgery.

Kate Beckett stood quickly but she looked back at her companion, Rick Castle, her eyes flicking down to the soft smile on his face and back up to his eyes again. "You'll be here?" she asked, the hope in her voice undisguised.

And for some reason, he couldn't fathom saying no to her. Couldn't before, definitely couldn't now.

Because this girl...Kate. Kate wanted him here. And he couldn't possibly refuse her. Not because her mother was in the hospital, not because she was so damn cute and fun to talk to, but just...

Castle stood up beside her, nodded his head in affirmation. "I'll be here."

Her smile lit up her face and then she was stepping up on her toes, leaning in to wrap her arms around him tightly in a quick hug.

"Thank you, Castle," she murmured close to his ear. The warmth of her voice caressing his bare skin made him tremble inside.

Castle stood stock still until she pulled away, but then she surprised him again. He had a feeling it was going to be a regular occurrence with this girl.

"For the record," she teased, a glimpse of her tongue showing between her teeth as she took backward steps away from him. "I don't really think you're old at all."

And with one last smile for him, she disappeared behind the doors, and then Rick Castle understood. He couldn't refuse her because in the span of an hour, the daughter of the woman he saved tonight had managed to capture his heart. Hook, line, sinker.

* * *

_I'm blown away by all the reviews, favorites and follows this has gotten already after just a single chapter. Thanks so much._ _Many of you mentioned liking my characterization of Johanna and Castle in the first chapter, so I hope my version of Kate is met with similar praise. Mind you, we have barely scratched the surface of Castle and teen Kate Beckett so far. Johanna lived, but the incident will still affect them all in certain ways as we progress. Anyway, I __ hope you enjoyed their first meeting. _As always, your thoughts on the chapter are much appreciated. Thank you.  



	3. Chapter 3

Castle almost thought he dreamed the whole horrific stabbing of Johanna Beckett up with his wild, active imagination until his eyes popped open some time later and there she was again: nineteen-year-old Kate Beckett, her thin little fingers wrapped around his upper arm, jostling him gently from where she sat beside him in the emergency room lobby. Her efforts took a moment, but succeeded in finally waking him up.

For purely selfish reasons that his sleepy brain was unashamed to admit to upon waking, he was kind of glad that he wasn't dreaming.

It meant that she existed in the world. She was real.

And he was overjoyed.

"Hey," he greeted her, voice still gruff with sleep. He yawned deeply, eyes watering a little at the corners, and he wondered how long he had been out for. An hour? Maybe two?

"Hey," Kate greeted back, her own voice soft, warm, so unlike the first time he'd ever heard her speak. That time, she'd sounded stunned and frightened, but now? There wasn't a trace of it to be heard. It made him happy to hear the vibrant sound in her voice again. Happiness looked and sounded so much better on her.

When his eyes started to focus better on his surroundings, Castle then realized how close she was to him. Like, really, really close to him. He had his head tilted back, resting against the wall behind the chairs, and she was sitting sideways in the seat beside him, facing toward him, her head cocked to the side with her cheek rested in the palm of her hand, her elbow propped up on the armrest between them.

Her eyes looked really pretty up close, now that he got a closer look at them, and she had his little beauty mark beneath her left eye that he never noticed before. It was cute.

_She_ was cute. She was just so very, very cute.

Castle yawned again, running a hand through the messy hair at the side of his head, ruffling it a bit, because now he was a little unsettled with her just sitting there watching him, not speaking. It was as if she was studying him, fascinated with him.

Oh, the feeling was quite mutual, Kate Beckett. No doubt about that.

"Did you get to see your mom?" he prodded, seeing as she still wouldn't speak up.

She nodded her head then, smiling. "Yeah." She paused a beat, and then as if she couldn't contain it anymore, "She's gonna make it," she beamed, her voice grateful and elated, her cheeks lifted and white teeth shining through her grin. "They took her back for some tests and she's got a long road of recovery ahead, but they said she's gonna be okay. She's gonna be fine."

"Good. That's good." He cleared his throat, shaking his head to ward off the lingering drowsiness he felt. The night had completely worn him out. "I'm so happy to hear that."

"It's thanks to you, you know," she said quietly, dipping her head a bit so that she was looking up at him from beneath her eyelashes.

"Me?" he questioned, taken aback. When she nodded her head, he shook his. "No. The doctors saved her life. I just called 911. That's all."

"You're really humble when it comes to stuff other than your books, huh?" she teased him. "But it's really true. You kept her from bleeding out in that alley, got her the help she needed."

Castle's throat bobbed as he swallowed, because Kate Beckett, who was already extremely close before, was now completely leaning into his personal space, curling her hands around his injured one and fixing the white bandages that had become loose as he slept. He watched her hands with rapt attention as she tied the gauze back in place a little more tightly than before, then ran a thumb over the finished result.

"She wouldn't be here right now if not for you," she went on, then looked back up at him, meeting his eyes. "You saved her life."

The next thing Castle knew, Kate's arms were wrapped around his neck and she was hugging him with her cheek pressed against his, not unlike how she'd hugged him sometime before. His heart pounded in his chest when she started to speak again. Softly, adoringly.

"Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you for saving my mom."

Castle sat dumbly for a few seconds before he finally discovered himself capable of movement again. His hands found her sides, and he ran them up the length of her lithe frame before he gave in and pulled her in closer, letting her melt into his embrace. Her arms wound tightly at his neck and he felt a surge of protectiveness overcome him suddenly. An urge to hold her close, keep her safe from the world.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Kate," he whispered, and it was the honest truth. He would.

He'd known this girl all of a few hours at the most, and yet he felt like he'd be willing to do just about anything for her now. It was crazy. Like that time he thought he fell in love with some random woman on the subway. He didn't even know her name, never exchanged words with her other than an occasional "Good morning" when they'd cross paths. Totally crazy.

And yet, still he felt a pull, a magnetism. He was taken by her. By this gorgeous young woman all wrapped up in his arms.

Kate pulled back from him and for the first time since the whole ordeal began this evening, he finally saw her cry. All of her repressed emotions of the night were set free, her tears cascading down her cheeks, and she yanked an arm from behind his head to be able to rub the sleeve of her jacket across her wet cheeks.

She was almost laughing when she apologized to him for being such a mess.

_But what a beautiful mess you are_, he thought to himself, as his wayward thumb found its way beneath her left eye, totally against his will, swiping away the moisture it found.

Her eyes darted from his first digit and to his eyes, where they then fixated on each other. He held steady, unmoving, while they stayed caught up in each other's gaze. He didn't dare blink for fear it would all be over once he did.

She was so very close, her breath fanning over his cheek as she breathed, blending with his own, and he wondered what she would do if he just gave in to the moment and captured her lips with his own. Would she return his kiss? Would she welcome it? Or would she pull away, shove him off, slap him silly for crossing an unspoken line between them?

While he was still trying to gather up his nerve—which, by the way, totally wasn't a frequent occurrence. Quite frankly he was appalled at himself right now for being so cautious—Kate Beckett once again surprised him, leaning her forehead down to meet his, the tip of her nose brushing gently against his own. She nudged at him affectionately, unmistakably suggestive of her intentions if you were to ask him.

His heart started pounding in his chest. _Is this really real?_ Surely the magnificent creature before him was an elaborate creation of his own mind. She simply could not exist. Not a girl this wonderful and captivating. Someone needed to pinch him. Hard. Fast.

As if on cue, he was jolted back to his senses when his phone started vibrating from within his pants pocket. The moment between them broken, Kate pulled back first, shying away from him, her cheeks flushed and her mind clearly flustered at her own actions. Castle wanted to apologize, wanted to tell her that it was okay, but the persistent buzzing in his pocket had him retrieving his phone and he startled upon seeing that the caller ID belonged to the cell phone he allowed Alexis' babysitter, Katrina, to use whenever she had his daughter.

Shit. Alexis.

A quick glance at his watch revealed that he had told Katrina he'd have been home about an hour ago. He'd fallen asleep and completely forgotten to call and check in, tell her what was going on. Even though he'd said he might be home a little late, that was no excuse to stay out of touch.

"I-I'm-" he stammered, still a little flustered himself by everything. "I'm sorry, Kate. I need to take this," he apologized, and she just nodded her head in understanding as he stood.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Daddy?"

Oh. Oh, it was Alexis.

"Hey. Pumpkin. What are you up to?"

Kate stared at him, her eyes wide with interest and piqued curiosity.

"Katrina said it's time for bed, but I wanted to call you and tell you good night."

His little girl. Really, he had the best kid in the world.

"Thank you, sweetie. That was very thoughtful of you. I'm sorry I'm not there to tuck you in myself but something really awful happened to a friend of mine and I had to take her to the hospital."

He chanced a look over at Kate, only to find that she had her feet tucked under her on the seat now, and was watching him intently with a little smile painted across her lips.

"Oh no. Is your friend okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, the doctors said she's going to be okay."

"Good. You're a good guy, Daddy, taking care of your friend. Like a superhero."

Kate must have overhead that one because she let out a little chuckle on a breath of air.

"Thanks, sweetheart. I'll be home in a little while, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy."

"Let me talk to Katrina for a minute. I love you."

"Love you, too, Daddy."

Kate's brow lifted with interest at the mention of Katrina, and Castle suddenly felt the need to explain himself, mouthing the word "babysitter" quickly. Kate, in return, mouthed back an "_Ohhh._"

Castle quickly filled his babysitter in on the situation after apologizing profusely for neglecting to keep her updated, and with the promise of some extra cash for her trouble, she gladly agreed to stay the rest of the night with Alexis until he could get back home. It was a good thing Katrina was so flexible with her schedule, because otherwise he may have had to run home or drag his mother away from one of her Saturday night parties she was so very fond of. There was a reason he paid a teenaged babysitter for Alexis' care sometimes, instead of always relying on his kid's own grandmother.

Teenaged babysitter. Shit. Kate was a teenager too, and here he was sitting over there not even ten minutes ago hoping she'd let him kiss her senseless. Or vice versa.

God, she was so young. Why'd she have to be so young?

She watched him with curious eyes when he pocketed his phone and slumped back down in his seat, feeling a little miserable with his luck. What was he thinking, anyway? He just got divorced and now he was fawning over a teenage girl? Stupid. He was being stupid.

But then Kate was sliding closer to him, propping an elbow up with her cheek settled against her palm again.

"You have a daughter."

Ah. Well, this was inevitable, right? Here was where the magic was going to end after he finally met a nice girl that probably wasn't after the fame and fortune attached to his name. Never mind that he was a decade her senior and she went to college in California. In the end, he was a recently divorced, single father with a kid. Not many women, not even the ones closer to his own age, want to deal with baggage like that.

But he was not ashamed. He'd never be ashamed of his daughter. He couldn't be. Even when he was horribly blocked and unable to write anything but literary crap after the night he found Meredith cheating on him, Alexis gave him light back in his life.

So even though he knew that whatever slim chances he thought he might have had with this girl were about to be doomed even further into the ground, he smiled when he replied to her, giving Kate Beckett the honest truth.

"Yes. I have a daughter."

He waited for it, that inevitable moment where the conversation would become uncomfortable, where they would switch subjects trying to find some other redeeming quality that was ultimately overshadowed by the fact that he's got a kid, because she wants a man who doesn't have an ex-wife, and the emotional baggage, or a kindergartner running around, but...

Oh.

She was...she was smiling.

He told her he had a daughter, and Kate Beckett was smiling.

* * *

_Uh-oh, looks like Castle is becoming rather conflicted by his budding feelings for our young Kate, and now his daughter has entered the picture. Alexis will personally be making her way into the story a little later on, after we get out of the hospital. It's a little challenging writing Alexis at five instead of eighteen, but I do hope you'll like the first meeting with Kate that I have planned when the time comes. That's one relationship on the show I wish we saw more of in episodes. Thanks again for all the follows/favorites/reviews. Until next update!_


	4. Chapter 4

There was never a moment after Rick Castle's divorce that he thought he'd be able to tell a girl that he had a child and she would be so easily accepting of it. It was a big, inescapable fear of his. A huge one. He didn't doubt his ability to attract and charm a girl onto his arm or into his bed, but at his age now, most women in it for love and a meaningful, lasting relationship wanted a clean slate. They wanted a guy they could fall in love with and build a family with, not have to deal with his past or add on to any already present tiny human additions. There were always exceptions to the rule, of course, but he'd yet to meet them, and as for the majority...

Well, it's why he'd been mostly sticking with meaningless flings since his separation from Meredith. Not to mention he just plain wasn't ready to commit again. He'd court women who didn't care he had a daughter, or had no clue she even existed, because they weren't looking for any more than he was at the time—companionship for a night, a weekend, a crazy party with friends who were more like mere acquaintances.

But here was Kate Beckett, the daughter of the woman he'd been instrumental in saving just a few hours prior, this adorable young woman with her angelic voice and her gorgeous eyes and...

Oh, her beautiful smile that she was still giving him, showing no outward signs of the news of his daughter being off-putting for her. She not only seemed unfazed, it was like she was inquisitive about it. Like she wanted to know more. She wasn't running scared or pulling away from the conversation.

_Although_, a little voice at the back of his mind told him, it was entirely possible that he had misread all those signs and signals. Maybe she wasn't interested in him after all? That was still a possibility. If she had no interest in him in that way, why would it matter to her if he had a kid or not? No, it wouldn't matter. She could just be trying to make conversation and pass the time. Her actions before—even if it was her practically leaping into his arms and nuzzling his face—could have just been her seeking out comfort from him, given the circumstances with her mom. That's how he was choosing to rationalize it all.

But that wasn't what she was doing at all.

"How old is she?"

"How- Oh. Um, she's five. Just started Kindergarten in September."

"Five," she mused aloud. "Wow."

Castle cringed.

"I bet she's cute. Kids are really cute at that age."

And cringe begone.

"I uh, I have some pictures in my wallet. If you'd like to see," he offered, not really even knowing or understanding why. He never did this sort of thing. He didn't offer up pictures of his kid to strangers, or people he'd barely just met. By all accounts, he kept Alexis tucked away and protected from the world. He never willingly thrust her out into it.

"Oh, really?" Kate's surprise was evident. Maybe she wasn't expecting the offer to be shown pictures of his daughter either. Regardless, she accepted the offer eagerly. "Sure. Please."

Castle fished in his back pocket and flipped open his wallet, untucking the pictures of Alexis he kept hidden away within its depths. He always found himself pulling them out during those moments when he was on a long book tour, or stuck in a terribly long meeting at Black Pawn. Sometimes he just needed a moment to relax and remember that he had this beautiful kid waiting for him at home, and that all this brief, annoying trouble would be worth it if it gave him the freedom to raise her and be with her as much as he wanted.

"She's beautiful," Kate said with awe upon taking a wallet-sized photo in her hand. "Red hair," she noted then, pointing a finger at the fiery locks on his daughter's head for emphasis.

Castle watched as she looked up at him, surveying his own head of hair, and then he chuckled to himself when he realized what she was trying to figure out in her head.

"My mother and her mother," he explained, without needing to be asked. "Both redheads. Might have skipped a generation with me. I don't know."

"I see." She looked back down at the picture in her hand, grinning to herself. "That's okay. The brown looks better on you anyway."

Did she just...? She did.

Well, there went his theory about misreading signals.

"Y-you, too," he said quickly, surprised to find himself flustered by the turn of events in his mind. "The brown, I mean. It...it looks good."

He honestly couldn't think of a time when he'd been so ineloquent with a girl since his teenage years spent at Edgewyck Academy. And yet she just moved right along with it, amused by him, surely, but not at all turned away by his awkwardness. For that, he was thankful.

"Mine actually had a bit of a red tinge to it when I was a baby. Sometimes still does when it's all natural." Kate twirled a strand of her dark brown hair around her finger before letting it go with a bounce. "It's really kind of curly, too."

Oh. So she dyed and straightened her hair. Well, that was pretty normal, right? Girls love to do stuff with their hair. Highlighting and perming and what have you. God knows his mother does it. Alexis would probably be the same way when she got older, doing silly things with her beautiful red hair. Nothing too crazy though. He'd exercise his rights to lay down some ground rules. Fathers could do that, couldn't they? To keep the boys at bay.

Speaking of fathers, where was hers at anyway?

"So...my daughter knows where I am now," Castle said, as he put the pictures back in his wallet and tucked the wallet back into his pocket. "Where's your dad at?"

The younger Beckett appeared as though the thought had just occurred to her that she didn't really know. And that she should probably go find out.

Damn. Her mother was in the hospital here with a stab wound and here all this time he'd been chatting her ear off about his kid and about hair colors. What an idiot.

Well, actually...to be fair, she _did_ come to him this time. She sought him out, woke him up, engaged the conversation.

…and he got a giddy little sense of glee from that fact alone. Something that both excited and terrified him at the same time.

"I um, I dunno, actually. He had to call our health insurance company and was filling out some forms when I came out here. But I should probably go back and check on everything now with Mom, see what's going on."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course. Don't let me keep you. I should probably head home to my kid anyway, now that I know everything is okay with your mom."

"Oh. Yes. She's Daddy's little girl, I bet."

"Yeah. It's just her and me, so—"

"Oh," Kate said abruptly. "So you're not...?"

"With her mother?" he nearly scoffed. He really did. "No. We divorced last year. She lives in Los Angeles now, so it's just been me and Alexis since then."

"Alexis," Kate repeated thoughtfully.

"Yeah. Alexis Harper." What the hell was he doing? Giving out his kid's full name? He just couldn't seem to shut up and stop himself from wanting to share things with her.

What was it with this girl?

"As in Harper Lee?" Kate asked.

He should have pegged her for being well-read. She had to be. Hardly anyone ever guessed correctly that he named his daughter after a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author, unless they were avid readers or worked in the same industry as he did.

And let's face it—he may have a few best sellers now and a cult following in the crime fiction and thriller genre, but he was no James Patterson. The fact that Kate's mother bought and handed over two of his books to her and she actually read them was testament enough for him to know that Kate Beckett was in the very least an avid reader, if not just a fan of the genre.

"The very same," he answered at length.

"Huh. My parents named me after someone famous, too. Hepburn."

Castle gaped.

"Don't tell me they named you Katharine Hepburn."

Kate's eyes rolled as she laughed. "No, no. Her middle name."

"Houghton?"

"Yeah."

"Katherine Houghton Beckett," he murmured, and really, the two of them were ridiculous, getting sidetracked by names, and middle names shared with famous people.

But he couldn't help it. He was simply captivated by her, and she was just so genuinely intrigued by him as well. He stayed because she asked him to. She came back to him to share in her joy over her mother's prognosis. And now they were both so obviously reluctant to part ways again that every little tangent possible with the conversation seemed to be getting pursued.

It pained him to think that, outside of the hospital walls, had her mother never been attacked, or had he never decided to go do some researching out in the depths of the city, he may never have gotten the opportunity to meet the extraordinary girl that was Kate Beckett, or learn about her hair, her middle name, the fact that she went to school at Stanford, or that she has read one of his worst books and actually liked it. So much so, that she even defended it against its own author.

"You should go home to your kid, Castle."

Kate's voice broke him from his reverie and he looked up to find her smiling at him as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. As if she was feeling the same way, too.

"You kicking me out?" he gruffed teasingly, but Kate saw it for the tease that it was. She just kept on smiling at him.

"We're gonna see if they'll transport her closer to home once she's stable."

Castle's brow furrowed. "Home. Home being...?"

"Still here. Just...closer to SoHo. Bellevue, probably. That's our preferred hospital for the insurance I guess, and it's within reasonable walking distance from our apartment."

For a second, he thought that she meant that they lived outside of the city or something. SoHo...he lived in SoHo, too. All this time, they probably had been living so close to one another. Well, not that it would have mattered. If they had met any sooner, she'd have been...

In high school. Junior High, even.

She'd have just been a kid.

Oh god, this was bad. This was really, really bad. He couldn't do this.

"You should come visit her, you know? I...I know my mom would like that."

Castle heard the exact words as she said them, but he couldn't help but think that her eyes and posture, everything in her entire being as she said it was screaming, _I want to see you again._

Oh man. He wanted to see her, too. And he was slowly starting to hate himself for it.

"I will. I'll come visit her."

"Okay. Good."

They both stood at the same time and Castle was not quite sure what the proper etiquette for this parting of ways would be. A simple goodbye? A hug? He even briefly entertained the idea of kissing her cheek until the voice in the back of his mind started scolding him again. Honestly, he really was usually so smooth and now he was just a mess. If this was the effect she had on him, being around her in the future was going to be difficult, if not nerve-wracking. She was going to drive him crazy in the most beautiful but challenging ways.

He turned to Kate with what was probably a pitiful look on his face and he shrugged his shoulders at her look. Kate's lips pursed for a moment, then curled up into a soft smile before she held her hand out to him.

A handshake. Okay, he could do a handshake.

He reached out and took hand, glancing down to find her small hand dwarfed by his own. And then the feel of skin on skin contact jolted him, took on its own life, as the young woman before him started to speak to him again.

"I can't thank you enough for what you did tonight. For helping my mom, for everything. I don't know what I'd have done if she..." Kate shook her head, seemingly throwing the thought away. It was no good to her now. It didn't happen. Wouldn't happen.

Her mother was going to be fine.

"It was nice to meet you, Castle. And thank you, again. Thank you so much."

He gave it a moment before softly saying, "I know we said we were dropping the honorifics, but you can call me 'Rick', you know."

A shy smile was painted across her features and she ducked her head, didn't meet his eyes. "I know. Just...castles are protected, you know? Once you're inside, they make you feel safe. Like nothing will ever get to you."

Oh. Oh man.

He could feel the shiver now that ran through her, the tremble in her bones. It wasn't just him. She was nervous, maybe even scared, about what she was feeling brewing between them, too. It was fierce and electric, a current that could not be grasped, contained, or denied.

_Forget the random woman on the subway, _Castle thought. A few hours and he was already hopelessly falling for Kate Beckett. It was terrifying. His logical mind screamed at him to let go of her now, to not get attached, to not let _her_ get attached. He couldn't do this to her. She was so young and she must have hopes, dreams, goals she was pursuing out in California that he was just no good for. His life was so mixed up between the divorce and the acting out, getting himself into trouble whenever he wasn't out looking for inspiration in the seedy underbelly of New York City. A guy like him had no place being with a girl like her. Not right now, not as he was. She deserved so much better. Someone much better than who he was now.

But his heart had other ideas, and his mouth right along with it.

"I...I can be your Castle then, Lady Beckett."

No accent, no teasing. She sighed, nodded her head with that little shy smile playing across her lips, and then she pulled her hand away. Then he watched her go, realizing as he saw her retreating form disappear behind closed doors again that he'd never be able to fulfill the promise that name would carry. Keep her safe? Hah. If they tried to pursue this—whatever _this_ was—he was just going to end up being the one person her heart needed protection from. No. No matter how he looked at it, he would just bring her down. He couldn't do that to her. He wouldn't.

But he'd soon find out that keeping himself away from Kate Beckett was easier said than done.

* * *

_In case you hadn't noticed yet, I have a habit of tossing in 'Easter eggs' and nods to things that have already happened in the canon storyline of the show. It's become my way of showing in this fic that the more things change, the more they stay the same, or something like that. Hopefully it doesn't take you too out of it if/when you notice them. Thanks so much for the reviews/follows/favorites. Your thoughts and feedback are always appreciated. An inbox full of them always brightens my day!_


	5. Chapter 5

Days passed by before Castle finally conjured up the nerve to call over to Bellevue Hospital and arrange a visit with Johanna Beckett.

He learned that she'd been moved to what Kate had described before was her family's preferred hospital the day after the incident, but once the story had broken out overnight that millionaire mystery novelist Richard Castle, infamously known for showing up on Page Six in the past year, had now become a hero entangled in a real-life mystery of his own, the media attention made him shy away from and hesitate getting involved with Kate Beckett and her family again, for their own sakes.

Regardless of how badly he desired to see her young, vibrant, smiling face again.

Kate Beckett.

Hers was a face he couldn't possibly keep out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried, how much he told himself it was for her own good. And now his name would be connected to her family's for the rest of his life.

Had he not called out to Johanna Beckett when he did, the stab wound inflicted likely would have been a killing blow to her kidney, or so Castle had read in the papers. She'd turned in the nick of time, and recoiled backward enough to avoid a deep, fatal wound to the abdomen. The knife missed all major organs and arteries, but getting her medical treatment promptly prevented her from bleeding to death in that alley.

She would have to be kept hospitalized at least a week, if not more, and the last thing Castle wanted now was to put the Beckett family through a media circus due to his celebrity status attached to Johanna Beckett's stabbing.

But little did he realize at first that the damage had already been done, the wheels set in motion.

The morning after the attack, Castle woke to an early phone call from his publicist, informing him to tread carefully; the press was all over the story of him coming to Johanna Beckett's rescue. "_Richard Castle -_ _Bad Boy Reformed?_" said one of the headlines in the New York Ledger. Instead of being the idiot who'd been caught stealing a police horse while drunk and naked last Spring, now was being heralded as a hero.

He didn't really feel like one though.

He was just in the right place at the right time, and acting as any compassionate, terrified human being would. That's how he rationalized it, anyway. His screaming and blubbering and choking on his own anxiety was nothing like that of a protagonist in a story he would ever write. In his mind, heroes were brave, courageous. They didn't stop, didn't blink, didn't fear.

They especially didn't have nightmares for days afterward, waking up on a scream and feeling like the sweat dripping down his skin was the blood of the woman who'd just bled to death in his helpless arms.

First it was Johanna Beckett again. Then his nightmarish visions started morphing into her daughter Kate.

It was horrifying, gave him nausea that lasted for hours, and a jumpy edge that sometimes followed him the rest of the day. The only relief he found was in writing drabbles and snippets of a story that he still had no real outline of or direction for, and a young female character he'd yet to come up with an origin story for, but was the embodiment of everything he'd seen in the younger Beckett woman. Her looks, her personality. His character was so far just a nameless beauty, but her heart, intelligence, and every striking detail about her was all an influence of that brief time spent with Kate Beckett.

And writing pieces of her story soothed him like no amount of his favorite scotch ever could.

But he refrained from going into all these details with his publicist, or anyone else for that matter. In the end, it wouldn't help the current issue they had at hand. He'd done his job giving the NYPD detectives the best description he could of the man who stabbed Johanna—tall, well-dressed and _'It was dark and I was focused on helping her. I never got a good look at his face'_—and with his publicist, he'd skipped right ahead to the important part: What was he supposed to do to keep his family, and the Becketts, safe from and out of the press?

"It's not that simple," she'd told him. And it wasn't. Not at all. He should have expected as much.

The statement they ended up releasing to the public that requested respecting the privacy for both parties during this sensitive time seemed to fall on deaf ears. In the days following that Sunday morning news brief, reporters were outside his apartment building, trying to get a more detailed, candid statement from him. Castle was forced keep Alexis out of school just to keep her from being exposed to the aggressive reporters trying to get their exclusive after things still hadn't settled down by Monday morning. By Tuesday, Alexis had missed two days of school, and the media had additionally started harassing Kate and Jim Beckett for statements and information at the hospital itself whenever they caught them arriving in the mornings and afternoon, or leaving for the night. Castle was beyond mortified that his name was now the cause of additional stress on their family.

Staying away from them wasn't helping matters, and it was only making him out to be an inconsiderate, self-centered asshole that didn't give a damn. He could care less what the vipers in the press thought of him, but the Beckett family—

Kate.

He told Kate that he would be there, and here he was four days later, holed up in his loft.

Enough was enough.

After an hour of deliberation on what to do, he finally grabbed his phone on Wednesday morning and made a call.

* * *

Kate Beckett paced around the hospital room, much to her healing mother's amusement. Johanna was admittedly rather doped up on some pretty good pain medication as it stood, making things far more entertaining than they should be, but the younger Beckett had been restless since they'd learned Richard Castle was secretly planning to drop by for a visit. Kate couldn't seem to sit still for more than a few minutes at a time before getting back up and moving around again.

"Someone is a little star struck," Johanna mused aloud, not really intending to bring it up but ah, her filter was gone with all the meds in her system.

"What?" her daughter startled, shifting around with her arms crossed over her chest. "No I'm not."

Her mother smiled back at her. "Is that why you keep fidgeting and shuffling around the room?"

"It's cramped in here. I don't like just sitting around waiting, is all."

"If that's the case, you could have waited until your father was off work and come by then. No sense staying cooped up all day with me."

When Kate hesitated to respond, and pushed her hair back behind her ear, Johanna pressed on curiously.

"But that's not the case, is it? You wanted to be sure you didn't miss a minute with Richard Castle."

Much to her embarrassment, Kate could feel the heated flush as it crept up her neck, reddening her cheeks. She turned away from her mother, facing the window that looked out over the city.

She remained quiet until she finally mumbled audibly, but under her breath, "He's coming to see _you_, Mom, not me."

If Johanna Beckett knew her daughter like she thought she did, she'd have to say there was a hint of bitterness in the statement her daughter had just made. Or maybe...

"Just how close did the two of you get while you were waiting for me to get out of surgery?"

Her daughter didn't reply this time, just stood silently in front of the window, her hand rubbing her opposite arm as she continued to gaze out at a bustling New York City morning. After a moment, one of Kate's hands lifted to push the vertical blinds on the window out of the way, and her forehead gently dropped to connect to the cold glass, a finger drawing indiscriminate shapes and lines against the smooth surface of the window.

She sighed, and the silence afterward in itself was answer enough for her mother.

* * *

Another two hours of restless waiting passed by. Johanna received her late morning dose of medication, dozed off during the latest episode of "Temptation Lane", and Kate had taken to settling down by pulling out the copy of In a Hail of Bullets, Castle's first novel, that she had picked up from the New York Public Library on Monday morning. She was nearly finished now with the mystery thriller that kicked off Richard Castle's career, having been drawn in and intrigued at every twist and turn. Where she'd taken her time reading the first two books of his that Johanna had given to her, she could barely put this one down once she got into it.

She tried to tell herself that it was because the tale Castle wove was so intricate. And it was true, to an extent. But she could not deny the fact that meeting the author himself had driven her to crave more from him in his absence afterward. It'd been hard enough tearing herself away from him that night at the other hospital. But with his book, his words, his presence, pieces of his mind—all of them swirled together into the story in her hands and she hungered for more it, more of him. Before that night, he had only been a pretty face to her on the back of a couple books she liked. And now...now she wanted to see him, get to know him. She couldn't explain it, even to herself. She just couldn't get enough.

"Sure is a handsome devil on the back of that cover."

The sound of his voice, quiet and low, caused her to startle and nearly drop the book in her hands. Kate glanced up to find Castle leaning against the doorway, watching her, and she could feel the rush of blood crawling up her neck and into her cheeks. As if on reflex from his words, she looked down at the back cover, seeing his face, and then she snapped the novel closed quickly, stuffing it back into her bag before chiding herself on the absurdity of it all. What was she, a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar? So she was reading while her mother slept. So what?

Ahh, but it was so much more than that. She was just caught reading the first book written by the author she was practically daydreaming about seeing again.

And now she couldn't stop staring at him.

He was actually here. He came.

"Umm...hi," he said then, once he seemed to realize that she was caught like a deer in headlights and wasn't going to respond without further prodding. His voice lost the edge of confidence it held before, and he swallowed a little nervously as he produced a large bouquet of artificial flowers from behind his back. He stepped inside, but ventured no further than just past the threshold of the door to the room.

Nodding in the direction of her mother asleep in bed, Castle said, "These are for your mom. They wouldn't let me bring real ones into the ICU. Protocols and all. But I just thought..."

When he gestured out towards her with the bouquet in his hands, Kate stood up and moved quickly to take the beautiful arrangement of lifelike flowers away from him. The bouquet was a wide variety of colors; reds, purples, a hint of blue and some white, too. They may have been fake but she could tell they were delicately crafted and not at all cheap for him to buy.

"I...thank you. That's really sweet."

She turned away from him briefly to set the flowers down beside an assortment of 'Get Well' cards and teddy bears that had accumulated in the room from friends and colleagues.

Castle shifted around on his feet. "I can uh...come back later, if that would be better. Once she's awake."

There was a nervousness to his voice, and a hesitation she sensed in him that she didn't like. He'd barely even stepped in the room and she could tell it was as though he was trying to remain distant from her.

He sort of was.

"Oh, no. No, it's fine. You can stay," she replied hurriedly, not giving him the chance to back out. She swiftly turned back around to face her guest. "It's just all of the medications they've got her on. They make her drowsy all the time. She should be awake soon."

"I see."

He was still hesitating a bit, but Kate was undeterred. She stayed on point with him.

"So, would you like to...?" she started, gesturing towards the two chairs in the room just off to the other side of the bed.

"Oh, um...yeah. Sure. Thank you."

Giving her a gentle smile, Castle stepped fully inside the room and made his way for the chair seated closer to the window, the one that Kate hadn't been sitting in when he had arrived. Careful not to make much noise that would disturb her mom, Kate lifted the chair beside her mother's bed and moved it closer by Castle before taking a seat herself. She noticed he was fidgeting, almost uncomfortably, and couldn't understand what was going on.

"So," he started first, in an effort to control the conversation and ease his anxiousness. He gestured toward her bag sitting beside the bed, and the copy of his novel placed inside of it. "You're reading another one of my books, huh?"

To his credit, he was only being slightly smug in the way that he asked it, but a light blush rose into Kate's cheeks again just the same. Castle's lips twitched when he noticed, and then he averted his eyes, but Kate tamped it down before it got the best of her. Her voice was strong when she replied.

"Yeah well, I wanted to go find something to read while I was at the hospital during the day and it looked interesting enough when I saw it at the library."

Such a lie. She'd done her research, looking up exactly which books he'd written first and intentionally picking up his debut novel when she realized that they had it available to borrow. She was planning on eventually going through his entire bibliography.

She didn't want just any author's story to read while her mother was recovering in the hospital from a stab wound.

She wanted one of Richard Castle's.

" 'Interesting enough'?" Castle balked, feigning mock hurt as if she'd actually struck him in the chest. "That book is a New York Times best seller, I'll have you know. It's the one that launched my career."

The '_I know' _nearly slipped off her tongue before she caught herself. She didn't want _him _to know she knew that.

"Relax. You don't have to be so quick to defend yourself, Castle," she replied easily, until the irony of her words hit her, making her cringe at herself. She ducked her head slightly, letting the curtain of her hair fall over her eyes for just a moment.

"I never said it was a bad book," she admitted honestly. "It's great, Castle. I really like it."

"You do?"

When she lifted her head to respond, the smile on his face knocked the wind right out of her lungs. It was as though her approval truly meant something to him deep down, and in that moment, she actually wanted to praise him more, his inflated ego be damned. If it meant he'd keep that smile looking back at her in place, it would be worth it. It was so much better than how he was when he'd first walked in.

"Yeah. I do."

At her words, Castle's lips curled up into a sideways grin and his eyes crinkled at the edges with his delight. It made Kate's stomach do a flip, her chest fluttering in a manner only he seemed to be able to evoke in her.

But instead of making her nervous, it made her grow a little more bold.

"You know, I...I was beginning to think I'd never..." She paused, shaking her head as if to erase the honest train of thought and words that were about to erupt from her mouth. Too much for now, she decided.

Castle watched her curiously, waiting for her to continue.

"It's been a few days," she revised instead. "I started to think that you wouldn't come."

"Oh."

"I mean, I know you're busy," she added quickly. "You're probably working on your next book and all. I just thought that—"

"No," he stopped her, motioning with his hands for emphasis. Kate fell silent instantly.

"No, I...I meant to come sooner. I did. I was going to. It's just...I saw that the press was hounding you guys because of me, and I didn't want..."

Castle paused, then looked down at his feet, a small sigh escaping him. She had to twist her hands in her lap to keep from reaching out to him like she wanted to. She couldn't figure out what he was suddenly so afraid of. What happened to that chatterbox of a man that she'd had no trouble speaking to, but difficulty walking away from all those days ago?

And why did he now seem so downhearted and...well, sad?

"I thought it would make it worse, my being here. That maybe if I stayed away, they'd finally leave you alone," he confessed at length, lifting his blue eyes to meet a doe-eyed Kate Beckett quietly gazing back at him.

His open honesty struck a chord in her. He was keeping his distance for her family's sake—for _her _sake. And that look in his eyes...he felt guilty about it. About the press, about keeping his distance, all of it.

"It's not your fault," she told him softly.

Castle wasn't so convinced. "Isn't it though? If I was just some normal guy, the story would have been nothing more than a blip in the local news like always, and that would be that. I'm used to them harassing me all the time, but you guys shouldn't have to go through it because of me. I should've done something sooner."

"Castle."

She couldn't hold herself back anymore. She reached out and set her hand over one of his where it rested in his lap, and their eyes met just as their skin touched. Electric. Still so very electric, and she could finally see it again now, that look in his eyes he had before. All of that feeling from the very first night they'd met.

"You're _not _some normal guy. You saved my mom, and that's what I care about. I will always be grateful to you for that. No matter what happens."

Castle's eyes softened, and she could see how she affected him, and equally felt how it was affecting her. He was still trying to hold himself back, trying not to let her in but...

That magnetism could not be denied. The empty space between his chair and hers grew smaller as she drew closer, the two of them slowly gravitating toward one another as if getting caught in the other's orbit and being pulled in by sheer gravity.

"I'm sorry, Kate," Castle whispered, and it's only then that she'd noticed he'd flipped his hand to curl his fingers over hers. "When I stayed away, I never meant for it to seem like I'm just some rich jackass who didn't care about you."

It tugged at Kate's heart, hearing how guilt-ridden he sounded. She never blamed him for the press, but there _had_ been that small part of her that thought the time they spent talking together that night was all one-sided. She was beginning to think that he had only stayed with her comforting her out of respect for her parents, or some parental instinct of his own. She thought he may have been gone for good. That she'd never see him again.

She squeezed his hand and opened her mouth to respond, only for another voice to beat her to it.

"Apology accepted," came the raspy voice of Kate Beckett's mother, followed by a sleepy yawn.

Startled, the two of them jumped back into their chairs, quickly putting an appropriate distance between one another. Castle then took it a step further, bolting upright as though he were standing before a judge and jury as they entered the room.

Well, Johanna was a lawyer. Close enough.


	6. Chapter 6

"_Mom?_" Kate greeted her mother in surprise, a little breathlessly to be honest. She cursed herself inwardly for how shaky and flustered her voice sounded. Seeing Castle standing there looking a little scared and a whole lot uncomfortable, probably freaking out on the inside, she decided to take control of the situation for his sake. Well, somewhat his sake. There may have been some self-preservation involved, too. He wasn't the only one who had nearly jumped out of his skin. She'd been pretty startled herself, too.

And god, she'd been so close to _kissing _him. _Again_. She'd felt the warmth of his breath on her lips, and had very nearly leaned forward those final few inches to whisper her reply directly into the heat of his mouth.

She knew she was blushing just thinking about it.

And never mind the almost kiss—Kate wanted to know why she felt such a primal urge to be near the guy. Even that first night, she felt the magnetic attraction from the moment their eyes first met. Four days later, she still barely even knew him and yet he was making her feel things she'd never in her life felt before. Four days and she couldn't get him out of her head, and now that he was here in her presence again, she was a jumble of flustered emotions.

She wasn't star struck. She knew it wasn't that. She just...ugh. She didn't even know. She had no words for it.

Standing up beside Castle in what was a rather stubborn refusal to let her own thoughts get to her, Kate's upper arm lightly bumped his to catch his attention, seek out his eyes and somehow wordlessly ask if they were okay. Castle jolted in place and leaned slightly away from her in response. She frowned. He looked back at her with flustered eyes, and she tried giving him a look that she hoped conveyed her support or some sort of reassurance, but it didn't help.

He was back to distancing himself again.

Even if she herself had no idea what to think of what was going on between them, she didn't want him freaking out or shying away from her.

With Castle still in the back of her mind, she turned back to her mother and asked her, "How long have you been awake, Mom?"

Johanna blinked drowsily at the both of them before replying, "Oh, not too long. Conversation sounded serious. Didn't want to interrupt."

And cue Castle freaking out inwardly.

He'd been about to kiss her. Again.

He was _so _about to kiss Kate Beckett again, and her _mother_ was _right there_ this time, and now she was _awake_ and _watching _them like she knew. Oh, she totally knew. It couldn't just be his imagination. She was smiling in this devilish way and looking at him knowingly and _god_.

Damn it all. What the hell was he _doing_? He needed to get a grip on himself. Hadn't he already resolved to not get involved with her? Decided it was best for the both of them that they remain acquaintances and nothing more?

It was just that...she was just so...

So damn irresistible, that's what she was. She got under his skin and through all of his defenses with little to no conscious effort on her part at all. Her eyes, her smile, her voice, her...well, everything. Everything about this girl was twisting him up from inside and out from the very moment he'd laid his eyes on her.

He was so doomed. If he couldn't resist her and she kept this up, he was so very, very doomed.

Time to man up, Rick. Be strong like the name he'd taken for himself all those years ago. Castle.

He could do this.

"Not until you found the perfect moment to chime in, you mean," the conversation between mother and daughter continued, with Kate accusing her mother in good nature, her arms crossing over her chest.

"Yeah, well," Johanna deflected with a smile, swishing a hand through the air and making her daughter just shake her head, amused.

Kate stepped past Castle then to take a seat on the bed and she placed a kiss on her mother's forehead. The skin felt slightly warmer than normal against her lips. Feverish, maybe?

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, actually," replied Johanna with a smile. She turned her eyes back on their visitor in the room. "Especially now that our handsome guest has finally arrived," she added, lifting her brow as she did.

With the conversation focused on Castle again, Kate turned her head back to look at the man in question only to see a hint of red gathering on his cheeks and near his ears. He was standing tall but looked like he was trying not to curl up into a little ball under both of their watchful eyes.

He hadn't done anything wrong. They were just talking.

And almost kissing. In front of her mother.

But that wasn't inherently wrong either, in her mind. How Kate saw it, they were two consenting adults after all. Well, _she_ was a consenting adult, anyway. Castle might be twenty-nine but he still had the instinctive reaction to her mother's sudden interruption like that of a high school boy. It reminded her of the senior boyfriend she had her sophomore year of high school, and how her parents came home from work early to find her straddling him on their living room sofa. Still fully clothed, mind you, but she was so preoccupied with acquainting herself with his mouth and neck, and he with groping her under her shirt, that neither of them heard the key in the lock or the door opening. When the surprised gasps and yelling started, he jumped away from her with his hands in the air as if they'd burst in with guns raised on him.

Needless to say, the relationship hadn't lasted much longer than a week after that. He was too terrified to go anywhere near her after the interrogation he received from her lawyer parents, and all of the (mostly) unfounded legal threats made against him by her father.

Poor kid.

And now there was Richard Castle. The bad boy mystery novelist had instantly turned into a timid little boy under her mother's scrutiny, and she had to purse her lips to hide the smile that wanted to erupt on her face, the laugh just aching to bubble up. He was pretty adorable when flustered.

Pretty damn adorable indeed.

Castle took a couple hesitant steps forward after a moment, that unseen force pulling him mostly in Kate's direction, but he stood just off to the side of her, his thigh almost touching hers where she sat on the bed, but not quite.

"Hello, Johanna," he greeted the elder Beckett. "I'm so glad to see you're doing well."

"I told you so," Johanna said with confidence, a small grin forming on her face, and Castle watched as Kate huffed out a laugh and shook her head again. He wasn't sure he followed; maybe it was some kind of inside joke? But she did tell him she'd be fine. And here she was, recovering well, her skin no longer the blood-drained, sallow color she'd been sporting the last time he'd seen her.

"Yes, you did tell me so. But you had me worried for a while there."

Kate's eyes turned downcast, and Castle wanted to kick himself for it, but then her mother took notice and reached for her daughter's hand. She gripped it strongly within her own as if to say she wasn't planning on going anywhere anytime soon. She was a fighter. She pulled through. A survivor.

"I mostly have you to thank for my still being here though, Mr. Castle."

Castle opened his mouth to refute her, but she was quick to shush him.

"Shhh. I know you're being humble, Rick, and that's fine. I understand. But I do owe you my life."

"No, that's-"

"But if it makes you feel any better," Johanna pressed on, ignoring his attempts to protest, "I do believe you still owe me a book."

Kate's brow quirked in curiosity and confusion as she looked between the two of them, not understanding. "A book...?"

Castle's head dipped though, smiling, knowing exactly what she was referring to. He'd promised her far more than just a book though, if his memory served him correctly.

"Fresh out of best sellers right now, but will you settle for a signed bouquet of flowers?"

* * *

The three of them spent so long talking together that you'd think they had known Richard Castle for ages instead of just a short few days.

On the topic of his books, Johanna asked what he was currently working on (and if she could get an advanced copy of it, of course.) Castle cryptically replied that he was fooling around with a few new ideas at present, but he had a new book due out in the fall. Kissed and Killed, he titled it. It was another thriller written about a street-smart, rookie female detective who grew up in the Bronx, and the gruesome murders she was investigating that linked back to the fashion industry. He was still doing some additional research and putting in final revisions before it was set to go to print.

"Fashion industry, huh? Katie could give you an earful on that," Johanna mused.

Castle's eyebrow went up with interest and he turned his curious eyes on Kate, who immediately shot her mother a distressed look, and followed it up with a _please do not embarrass me by bringing up my summer stint in modeling_ glare.

Johanna chuckled to herself for a moment before continuing, "What's your roommate's name again? Dana? Deborah?"

"Debbie," Kate replied scornfully, after letting out a sigh of relief. "Debbie Winaker."

"Right, Debbie. Quirky girl, that one."

"Tell me about it," Kate said, rolling her eyes.

A grin slowly made its way onto Castle's face. He was far too curious not to ask questions now.

"Your college roommate is a fashion model?"

"Worse," Kate replied. "She wants to be a beauty queen."

Castle laughed. "What's she doing at a school like Stanford?"

"Art major, and parents with a lot of money."

"Ah."

"She really is a sweet girl though," Johanna defended. "Just could ease up on the perfume and hairspray a bit."

"And hoarding our closet space," Kate added.

"Funny. From what I saw while I was there for your birthday, what Debbie has in clothing, you have in just shoes alone."

Kate shot her mother another scowl that Johanna simply returned with a knowing smile. Castle grinned wildly.

"I'll have to remember to ask you a few questions later then," Castle said to Kate. "Maybe you can help give some of my details a little more authenticity with this book."

Kate turned back to him with a shy smile before she nodded her head. "Okay," she agreed softly. "I can do that."

"Make sure you ask him for writer's credit, Katie," Johanna said with a wink, making the two of them smile at each other all the more.

The more he learned about them and talked with them, the more fascinated Castle became with the Beckett women.

If this was what being doomed felt like, Castle found he didn't so much mind the feeling anymore.

* * *

Around noon, after Kate lightly made mention of a dry throat and her stomach growling—she'd spent hours never leaving the room while waiting for him to arrive—Castle said he was a little thirsty, too, and offered to go grab her something to drink from the water cooler he'd spotted down in the lobby on his way in. Although she tried, he wouldn't allow her to refuse the offer, and headed off on his way, leaving mother and daughter alone together.

It didn't take long before Johanna was pressing the subject of her daughter's very obvious affections for the young writer.

"You like him," Johanna pointed out, taking in the way her daughter looked after Rick Castle as he passed by the window and made his way down the hall.

"Hmm?"

"Rick," her mother clarified. "Or 'Castle', as you seem to be calling him. I see the way you look at him, Katie. You started glowing the moment he stepped in this room."

Kate's jaw dropped open, thunderstruck. "You were awake the whole time? _Mom!_"

"Hey, I gave you a little time to talk amongst each other before butting in. You should be thanking me."

But she didn't. Wouldn't. Kate scowled at her mother, disbelieving. "Faking sleep to eavesdrop on your daughter is just _wrong_."

"Oh, come on. Don't be like that. I wouldn't have had to eavesdrop if you'd have just told me how you felt about the guy from the start."

That shut Kate Beckett up right quick. Standing up from where she was still seated on the bed, she took a few steps back towards the window, staring out wistfully.

She still wasn't sure how she felt, to be honest. It may have been a few days since they'd met, but she'd still only known him for a few hours now, collectively, and knew very little about him from that. He was a rising star in his craft, but she'd really only known _of _him since the day she packed up the final amount of her belongings and headed for college across the country. She opened her going away present from her mother on the flight from JFK to San Jose International Airport in California, and found his smiling face staring up at her from beneath the gift wrap.

She remembered wondering on that warm, early September day, if her mother had purposely put the books inside the package with the back cover facing outward, so that she'd see the handsome face of the books' author first, and judge the novels based on that side of the cover instead of the cover art on the front.

He really was handsome. _So _handsome. His scruffy face gave him the outward appearance of a young rogue, but his actions and words gave away that softer side of him. He had a reputation for being a bad boy and that was attractive to her, sure—she'd dated her fair share of them in high school, much to her parents' dismay—but it was the underlying tenderness she could see, feel, the sweet way he looked after her and interacted with his young daughter on the phone that she was quickly...

"So you _do _like him."

"I...I think he's interesting," Kate admitted at length. She didn't dare turn around. Her mother knew all her tells by now. She'd be a complete giveaway.

"And you like him. It's okay to admit it, you know. He's sweet, intelligent. Handsome."

Kate nodded slowly, a shy smile forming on her face. Her mother was giving words to her thoughts perfectly.

"He saved your life. And while you were in surgery and the recovery room, he kept me company while Dad was running around doing this and that. I was going out of my mind worried about you and he just...he pulled me out of my head. Made me focus on something else. Made me laugh when it would have otherwise seemed impossible to."

When Kate finally turned back around to face her mother, Johanna was just watching her, smiling fondly, silently urging her to continue.

"So, okay. I guess I do like him."

"He's a lot older than you, Katie."

"Just ten and a half years. I looked it up on his publisher's website..."

"You what?"

"He was born on April 1st, so like a little over ten and a half years. That's not that bad."

Kate swallowed hard at the lump forming in her throat as her mother watched her thoughtfully. It was that lawyer look she had about her, when she was trying to figure someone out. Kate had been on the receiving end of that look for so many years now, it had lost most of its edge, but the meaning behind it was still effective on its own. The only time her mother gave her a look like this was when she was concerned about something she was doing. Like the time she bought her Harley.

Like possibly getting involved with an older man.

"He has a child, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, a daughter. She's five. He showed me pictures of her that he keeps in his wallet. Her name is Alexis. She's really cute."

"He showed you pictures?" Johanna asked in surprise. Kate nodded her head.

"And it doesn't bother you?"

"What?"

"That he has a daughter."

"No..." Kate drawled out. After a beat, she turned a questioning look back to her mother. "Should it? I mean, he's a great dad. I heard him on the phone with her. It was really sweet, the way they talked to each other. You can tell he really adores her."

Johanna sighed, and then Kate knew their conversation had hit a snag. Well, as far as her mother was concerned anyway. Kate didn't see the issue. She wasn't underage and she was a mature, independent young woman now. If she liked an older man—so what? It's not like she was wanting to go elope with the guy. Her mother though...Johanna was evidently concerned, unsure about it. And that didn't bode well for her father's eventual opinion when he found out. He'd already threatened to send her to a nunnery after she bought her bike, and she did date that grunge rocker for seven months during high school just to piss him off when he expressed his disapproval...

"Okay. I know, Mom. I get it. I see what you're saying. Normally I wouldn't even dream of being with someone who already has a kid. But you just didn't see it. The way we connected. He's so easy to talk to and he was so good to me. I was scared and he just made everything wash away. Mom, I've never felt like this with anyone before."

"You're nineteen, Katie. He's famous and charming, and you admire his books. Of course it's going to feel different."

"Mom—"

Amidst their escalating discussion over the man himself, Castle returned then with two cups filled with spring water in his hands, candy bars sticking out from every angle of his front pants pockets, and a package of M&Ms dangling from between his teeth.

Both mother and daughter turned a look on him as though he'd left and come back with a second, freshly grown head on his shoulders.

"What?" he mumbled from behind the wrapper in his mouth.

Johanna blinked at him, clearly at a loss for words, and Kate just shook her head. It was more like the guy had left the room as the handsome, charming novelist and returned as an overgrown kid who'd just hit up a candy store with all of his allowance money.

When neither of the women ventured to say anything further, Castle set down one of the cups on the countertop just inside the door and snatched the bag of M&Ms from his teeth.

"Everything alright?" he asked, suddenly sensing the tense atmosphere between them.

The pair looked between each other before they both huffed out a "fine" in unison.

No stranger to bickering women, Castle didn't attempt to push the subject. Whatever it was they might have been squabbling about during his absence, he really didn't want to know.

Moving right along, Castle crossed the room with a cold cup of water for Kate, which she graciously thanked him for, before shuffling in his pockets to retrieve the bountiful loot of chocolate and other candy he scrounged up from a vending machine. He must have gotten at least one of almost everything the machine had to offer.

"I saw a vending machine in there but I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just grabbed whatever they had. Don't know if we're allowed to eat in here, but if we're sneaky, it'll at least tide you over until you can grab some real food later."

"Oh, thank you Cas—"

"Why don't you go grab some now?"

Both of them turned to Johanna at her suggestion, and the younger Beckett eyed her mother suspiciously. Johanna simply smiled innocently before turning her eyes back on their guest.

"Katie's been cooped up with me here all day and a candy bar is hardly nourishing. I'm not going anywhere; you kids go ahead, get a bite to eat. I'll even buy."

"Mom," Kate started, her tone just shy of exasperated. _Really?_ After everything she'd said while Castle was out of the room, now she was basically setting her up on a lunch date with the guy?

"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly take your money. I can cover—"

"Nonsense. It's the least I can do after everything you've done for me, Rick. Katie. Grab my wallet, will you?"

Kate's brow furrowed, and she eyed her mother suspiciously again as she crossed to the other side of the bed. Whatever her mom was up to, she still wasn't about to decline a free lunch with Richard Castle, so she figured she may as well play along. For now. If this was her mother's way of trying to prove some sort of point, it was just going to backfire on Johanna, she decided. Not on her.

She opened a cupboard on the wall to the side of the bed and retrieved a small leather purse inside a clear plastic bag labeled "Belongings", with the name "Johanna Beckett" inscribed in black marker on the white space below. Castle quickly noticed that the purse was different from the one he'd seen her carrying the night of the attack. In retrospect, it was probably so covered with blood that they ending up tossing it. He couldn't blame them. No matter how much it may have been worth in material value, it was a gruesome reminder best left forgotten and never seen again.

Kate popped the purse open on the counter beside Castle's freshly autographed bouquet of fake flowers and pulled out her mother's wallet. She handed it over to her and Johanna reached inside to pull out a couple of twenty dollar bills. She handed them to Castle.

"Here, treat my daughter to a nice lunch for me and we'll call it even, huh?" Johanna said with a wink.

Castle smiled in return, and accepted the money, tucking the bills into his back pocket. "I think I can manage that," he said.

Kate felt her stomach flip and tumble as Castle turned his smile on her. He held his arm out to her.

"What do you say, Beckett? Shall we?"

She considered him for a moment, searching his eyes, but there was no hint of hesitation or nervousness anymore. The twinkle was back in his eye and his smile was genuine. Infectious, even. With a little smile of her own, Kate Beckett hooked her arm in his.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

_**Thanks lfvoy! I just found Alexis' pedigree, so I've gone ahead and edited all the chapters to correct Castle's age. I never read Castle's Twitter back then so I had no idea his birth year was 1969. See, this is why I love reviews! Hehe.**  
_

_Thanks again for all of the wonderful reviews! It is tremendously inspiring when it comes to writing more chapters (and very helpful!)  
_


	7. Chapter 7

After Castle had stealthily escaped his apartment building that morning with Alexis in tow, he dropped his daughter off for her late bird kindergarten class before heading over to the hospital. He had to pick her up in a little over an hour and a half now, so it didn't really give him too terribly much time to spare for going out and dining. The best food spots in Manhattan would all have lines for lunch this time of day. Add in walking or public transit time, and the need to evade all of the reporters still out there trying to get their exclusive, and it left Castle very hesitant to even leave the hospital with Johanna Beckett's daughter at his side.

That's all they needed; Kate getting dragged into even more of a media circus if they were seen together.

Fortunately, the press had a lighter presence outside when Kate arrived at the start of visiting hours. Mostly only the most obstinate reporters were there in the morning, but it was still enough to be sufficiently annoying and intrusive. She'd simply done as she did the day before and brushed past them this morning, muttering "no comment" before making her way inside. They followed her as far as they could until being stopped by a security guard. They weren't allowed anywhere near the ICU, especially with their cameras, and so mostly stayed camped out in the lobby on the first floor or waiting outside by their news vans, eyes peeled for arrivals or departures.

Castle's visit was mostly kept on the down low with Bellevue. He'd managed to sneak in unnoticed by the press through an employee service exit on the other side of the building with help from some kind and understanding staff members he'd spoken to when arranging the visit with help from his publicist. Once inside, he was golden. Neither party wanted any undue or negative attention, especially inside the hospital, so the whole plan really went off without a hitch.

But it still meant leaving the hospital was basically out of the question for him with this impromptu lunch.

Castle was sheepish after he explained the situation to her, and she was understanding, but it did leave Kate feeling rather bummed out about the whole thing. She had to admit that part of her was hoping for a booth in a nice restaurant, a special moment of alone time together, getting to know him more, and learning more about his life, maybe even sharing some more of her own.

When he asked if she'd be okay with heading downstairs to the cafeteria, that little fantasy of hers shattered like broken glass. She tried not to let her disappointment show when she smiled, shook her head and said, "No, of course. That's fine."

She liked him. There was no sense in denying it to herself now because she did. She really liked him. What she felt when she was in his presence truthfully was unlike anything she'd ever felt with another guy before. He gave her such a case of the butterflies just by walking in the room, and he was her mother's hero. _Her _hero in effect, too...and she did admire him for other reasons, but that wasn't all.

It was everything else, too. Not just the ease with which they interacted, but that instant connection they shared, and the powerful magnetism they seemed to have with one another, even when just chatting about mundane, ordinary topics. And just the lightest of touches to her skin set her nerves ablaze from him. _That_ feeling, his skin against hers, drew her to him even more, made her want to do stupid things like throw caution to the wind and seal her lips over his own.

She couldn't possibly allow herself to let someone like that just slip away.

But as they wandered the halls of the ICU, her arm still lightly hooked into his, Kate's mind started to wander just as well. She wondered if Castle felt the same as she did. If his hesitance and distant behavior towards her before was a sign that he wasn't interested.

_He's a lot older than you, Katie._

Had her mother had an inkling that this would happen all along when she sent them on their way? That he'd just whisk them off to a plain hospital cafeteria instead of the restaurant she was fantasizing in her head?

No.

She was being ridiculous.

Johanna wouldn't have known. She couldn't. She was just putting far too much thought into things now after that conversation with her mother. She was so skeptical of Johanna's intentions in sending them off to lunch that she was hellbent on finding her mom's trademark "I told you so" in an innocent gesture.

Besides, it was just lunch. It wasn't like they were going out to dinner on an actual date. He obliged only after her mother insisted. Johanna felt indebted to him, and wanted to find a way in which he'd be comfortable with in order for her to pay him back for all he'd done.

_Oh god_, she thought then. Was that all this was to him? Just helping her mother settle a debt?

As they stepped up to the elevator, Kate's arm relinquished his and retreated back to her side. Castle looked down at her curiously as she pulled away, but didn't find it to be anything to comment on. He instead assumed she was worried about their destination, and so turned to her and said, "Now, I know a lot of people knock hospital food but the cafeteria really has some pretty amazing stuff cooking down there."

Kate hummed a flat response and when the elevator arrived, they both stepped inside and Castle continued on with a story.

"I followed a pulmonary specialist over at Langone around for a week so I could get these important details in Death of a Prom Queen down accurately—you should read that one next, by the way. Oh, or A Rose For Everafter. Yeah. Read those two. They're much better than my other lesser works, trust me."

She smiled, but Kate didn't look at him, just kept her eyes cast downward on the interior of the elevator as she leaned against one side of it. It was getting harder by the minute not to feel so...what? Cheated?

More like delusional. He was taking her to a _hospital cafeteria_. She felt like such a fool.

"Anyway," Castle went on, his mind immersed in his story as he pressed the button for the ground floor, oblivious Kate's inner turmoil. The elevator started its descent.

"He was working 24-hour shifts and I swear I ate nothing but hospital food for the entire seven days I was shadowing him. They had this meatloaf that was to die for and the salad and baked potato bar at lunch time was amazing. Anything you could think of, they served it at some point. Really, it's nothing like the special diets they serve to patients that taste so bland and disgusting."

Kate's reply lacked any heart to it. "I'll have to take your word for it."

Castle finally took note of the change in her mood, but he didn't get the chance to throw in the cheesy question of _Hey, what's eating you?_ before the elevator slowed to a stop. Just as the doors started to open, he peered out and muttered, "Oh, shit. I forgot about those guys."

Kate's head snapped up. Castle had unwittingly had the elevator stop in the lobby on the first floor, and as the elevator doors opened wider, she could see right there in front of them, maybe forty paces away, some eager tabloid reporters and slew of idle cameramen. One of them—a petite, older blonde woman—happened to turn her head and look at the sound of the elevator arriving, and it was easy to tell by the look on her face that she'd made Castle instantly.

"Hey that's...!" the reporter gasped, throwing her hand out to hit the arm of her cameraman.

"I'm terribly sorry, guys," Castle said quickly to the three people with visitor badges whom were standing outside the doors, waiting for the elevator, all intending to step inside. "She's really contagious and I would hate for you to catch it. Really, it's for your own sake. You're better off waiting for the next one."

Kate looked at him incredulously as he mashed his fingers down on the elevator close button incessantly and tried to forcibly close the doors at the same time. The reporters were making a beeline for them, but Castle started taunting them from inside as the doors closed in the nick of time, the lift sailing back up to another floor above them.

"What are you _doing_?" Kate shrieked in surprise, as Castle bolted out the door on the next floor up.

"Uh, second floor. We'll take the stairwell the rest of the way down. They won't think to find us down in the cafeteria."

"Won't they just try to take the stairs _up _to find us, since you hijacked the elevator?"

"Oh. Right." He pondered a moment before looking like he'd been struck with an idea, and then he was grabbing her hand and dragging her along after him.

"Castle, what—?"

"We'll find another set of stairs. Or another elevator. Something. Come on!"

Kate stumbled behind him, and couldn't help but think that this arrangement she'd be feeling so miserable about had taken a complete 180 degree turn for the better in a matter of minutes.

Maybe he was only doing this as a favor to her mom, but regardless of the situation, now they were on the run from zealous paparazzos, and their little lunch date had quickly taken on the form of a whirlwind adventure like something out of a crazy movie. He could have easily taken her back upstairs to her mom's floor, and called an end to the whole thing, but he didn't.

No. Castle had his hand wrapped firmly around hers, and he was pulling her in tow, his head swiveling left and right, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be chasing them, and his eyes darting around for what Kate could only presume were directional signs, or maybe a map of the building, too.

"Crap. I have no idea where to go," Castle muttered, when they came to a dead end in a hallway, patient rooms on either side of them. She was honestly surprised no one had approached them for suspiciously jogging down the halls.

"Excuse me, there are no cameras allowed here," they heard someone say from somewhere behind them, and Kate grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket, yanking him back with both of her hands to pull them both into a small corridor out of view.

"Shhh," she hushed him, when he startled at her actions and tried to protest, ask what she was doing.

The voices continued but a short moment later, it was quiet again.

"I think they left," Kate said quietly, and they both peeked their heads out and found no one but a lone janitor left in the hallway.

"Hey, we could always just...ask that guy where to go," she offered, lifting both her brows and her lower lip as she shrugged.

Castle's eyes lit up when he turned them on her.

"You, Kate Beckett, are a genius. Yes. Let's do that."

She couldn't help it. She barked out a laugh. Did the thought really never occur to him? What a stereotypical man. Never asking for directions.

It made her happy with the realization that behind the narrow fame and the legion of fans he was steadily gaining with his rising success, Richard Castle wasn't some jaded superstar that the press made him out to be. He really was just a normal guy in many ways underneath that exterior he played up for the media.

The man in the hallway had just started mopping the floor and dropping down orange "Careful - Slippery" cones as he went about his work. They approached him cautiously and Kate quickly rattled off the situation to him.

"Um, excuse me. Do you happen to know if there are any additional stairways or elevators in this building that will get us to the cafeteria?" She hooked her thumb backwards in the direction that they had originally entered from. "Besides those ones."

The man looked from Kate to Castle, and scrutinized the writer before replying, "What's wrong with the other one?"

"Well, you see...he's famous." Kate wiggled her hand out from Castle's grip and hooked her arm through his instead. She tugged him forward in front of her and he stumbled, looking down at her in confusion. Off her look, he gave the janitor a goofy grin. The man was not impressed, and simply stared at him in disbelief. Castle scratched the back of his head self-consciously.

"We just want to be able to go eat, but we're sort of being chased by the paparazzi. Please, can you help us?"

The janitor seemed dubious at first, but then Castle watched as Kate reached into her jeans pocket and turned on the charm.

"Here," she slipped the man a twenty dollar bill. "This should make it worth your while. _Please?_"

Once she ducked her head and started batting her eyelashes, Castle knew the guy wouldn't be able to resist. Hell, he was falling under her spell all over again and she wasn't even looking at him. The janitor coughed up alternative directions for them rather quickly after plucking the note out of Kate's fingers. "But if you and your Jason Bateman look-alike here get caught doing something stupid around here, I don't know nothin' about it, ya hear me?"

Kate had to drag Castle away before he could start trying to illustrate the vast number differences in appearance and degree of talent between he and the actor.

"I guess it's a good thing we're only going to the cafeteria and not someplace fancy," Kate mused aloud as they hurriedly stepped down another hallway that curved around a totally opposite side of the hospital wing, and ended with an entirely different stairwell entrance. It would be an extra long walk, but at least they'd be sure no one would find them.

"Oh?" Castle questioned curiously, still happily getting pulled along with her by his arm. "And why's that?"

Giving him a coy little smirk, Kate shifted her eyes down to his back pocket, then pulled another twenty dollar bill out from her own.

"Because now we've only got one of these left," she said smugly, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Castle's mouth dropped open and he halted his steps. "You had your hand in my pocket and I didn't even feel it?"

She released his arm and moved ahead of him, throwing another smirk back at him over her shoulder as she did. He moved to catch up as she opened the stairwell doors and he entered after her. As they descended, she saw Castle keep looking back at his ass, surveying his pockets as he patted them down with a hand.

"How did you even _do _that?" he asked, taking step by step beside one another. Kate smirked again.

"Why so flustered, Castle? That can't be the first time a girl's had her hand in your pants."

Taking another few steps down, she found herself alone on the landing. Castle was frozen in place above her, staring after her with dark eyes.

Realizing what she had said, a bright red blush crept into into her cheeks and she gulped.

Biting her lip and not really meeting his eyes, Kate asked, "You uh...you coming, Castle?"

She nodded her head in the direction of the exit, and Castle worked his jaw a moment before he could answer.

"Y-yeah."

He stumbled behind her, but didn't take his eyes off of her hands the rest of the way to their destination.

* * *

He was right. The food choices were varied and the taste really wasn't that bad at all.

Having a case of the butterflies now, Kate went lighter on her meal choice. She tossed together a mix of spinach, kale, and other fresh greens on her plate and ambled on over to the wide selection of salad toppings. Throwing in some sliced strawberries and feta cheese, she topped it all off with slivered almonds, red onion, a few croutons, and a delicious raspberry vinaigrette. Castle's appetite clearly wasn't affected by any nervous stomach he may have had, as he opted to go with a heavier meal, heading straight for the three-cheese lasagna that they could smell as soon as they entered the cafeteria. He completed the meal with a side of freshly baked breadsticks that Kate was certain she may end up having to steal one of before their lunch was through. They looked and smelled divine.

They took a seat opposite of each other in a rather secluded area on the far side of the dining area, just in case anyone did manage to track them down to the cafeteria. Castle's seat gave him a nice vantage point of the door to be able to react quickly enough, and the way he described the plan to her, it was like he was playing some sort of spy game.

She found it amusing. He was like a little boy.

Their hunger left them in companionable silence at first, other than the typical "Oh, this is good", and "What'd I tell ya?" and smiling over their drinks whenever they'd take a sip. He offered to top off her glass of iced tea when he went back to refill his Coke, but upon his return, Castle seemed bit with the chatter bug again. He started asking questions, making conversation.

Not that she was at all opposed to the idea. This was what she had hoped for all along, wasn't it? Getting the chance to talk to him in private.

"So, I'm curious," Castle said between bites of a breadstick. He at least had the decency to cover his mouth and only talk with it slightly full. "You said you go to school at Stanford, right?"

"Right."

"What are you studying?"

Kate met his eyes briefly across the table, his blue orbs sparkling back at her with interest, before she dropped her gaze back down to her plate. She speared a strawberry with her fork and twirled it around momentarily.

She didn't mind telling him. She just wasn't sure how he'd perceive it.

"I'm pre-law," she said at length, then popped the fruit into her mouth. Sure enough, Castle's eyes widened with the newfound knowledge.

"Wow. That's a really difficult program to get into at Stanford, isn't it? Their acceptance rate as it stands is well below ten percent."

Kate shrugged her shoulders, trying to hold back her proud little grin. It was true. Her school was highly competitive, especially for those wishing to enter a law program after completing their undergraduate degree. But she worked her ass off in high school, keeping a perfect GPA, and taking and excelling in as many high-level prep courses as possible. Getting into Stanford had been her proudest academic achievement to date.

When she chanced a look back up at Castle, he had his fingers laced together in front of his plate, the small portion left of his meal forgotten as he grinned at her, looking at her in a whole new light.

"Well, now that we've established that you're brilliant," he started again, and Kate huffed out a small laugh, smiling as she ducked her head slightly. "What's an accomplished Stanford pre-law student like yourself doing so far away from school right now? Like before what happened, I mean."

Oh. Well, she should have seen that question coming. It would seem odd for someone who went to college now in California to be hanging out in New York during the school year. But she had her reasons.

"Um...well, the winter quarter started up last week, but I flew back in for the weekend. I took a leave of absence from school now, though. Because of my mom."

He nodded his head in understanding, but curious Castle wasn't content with the vague answer and without missing a beat asked her, "Flew back in for the weekend why? For what?"

She could practically see the thirst for knowledge within his deep, blue eyes. He had no shame prying into her life. Normally, that would piss her off a little with most people. She wasn't exactly a shy person, but she did value her privacy. She wasn't like the man in front of her, who'd been recently living much of his life in the spotlight of tabloid magazines. But there was something about Rick Castle that made her a little more inclined to offering pieces of herself up.

Didn't mean she couldn't call him out on being nosy first, though.

"I get the feeling you have an absolute disregard for respecting people's private lives, don't you?"

There was a teasing bite to her words, but Castle remained unaffected. She should have figured as much.

"Novelist's habit," he explained, as if it was no big deal. He was leaning forward on his elbows, one of his closed fists tucked beneath his chin and looking like an expectant puppy waiting to be tossed a bone.

The adorable display made her cave in so quickly that she was even appalled with herself.

"Okay, fine. I flew in to attend a convention with some friends of mine from school."

"A convention. Like, an art convention?"

"Uh, no." She hesitated for a moment, ducking her head a little shyly. Her next words came out much more quietly than before. "It's kind of a low-scale, indie sci-fi and comic convention."

"Oh my god, SuperpowerFest?"

His voice had gone up an entire octave and Kate recoiled in her seat in surprise. He had that excited, expectant puppy look back in place so she nodded to confirm his guess. She was only a little surprised to hear that he knew of it, but his reaction took her even more by surprise. He looked positively ecstatic now.

"You like comics? And sci-fi? Wait, who's your favorite superhero? Star Wars or Star Trek? They've got a new Star Wars movie coming out this summer and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. Oh, hey! Have you ever seen Forbidden Planet?"

"Geez, Castle. Slow down," she laughed. "Give me a chance to answer."

"Right, right. Sorry."

As she regaled him with tales of her first comic book purchase, her regular attendance to SupernovaCon, and how she'd made first time plans to attend San Diego Comic-Con before returning home from school for the summer, Castle looked upon her with awe. He had a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face, and her cheeks were starting to hurt from all the times she was both blushing and smiling. He ribbed her about her affection for the ill-fated "Nebula-9", but shut up quickly after she finally stole one of his breadsticks and teased, "I guess I won't show you my Lieutenant Chloe outfit then."

He may not have liked the show, but no man familiar with it wasn't allured by actress Stephanie Frye, especially in that space dress of hers.

And the thought of Kate Beckett in Lieutenant Chloe's dress? Or any dress, really. Ooh, those long, slim legs of hers would look heavenly.

"Castle. Hey," she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Stop spacing out about my body, you perv."

The snap of her fingers together snapped him right back to attention, and while she was smirking at him knowingly, she still had a tinge of pink painting her cheeks again.

Castle had a feeling it was a reflection of his own, too.

After they finished their lunch, he offered to see her back up to her mother's room. He wanted to say a proper goodbye to Johanna, and it seemed Castle's little spy game was on again as they walked their way back. He made a show of ducking around corners and peeking out the stairwell doors for any unwanted guests in their midst, and Kate kept laughing under her breath at his stupid antics. What was he, nine years old?

As they stepped onto the elevator for the final leg of their return trip, Kate asked him, "So who are you trying to channel right now, Castle? James Bond?"

She meant it as a sarcastic joke because he was really so terrible at it. He hadn't been inconspicuous at all. If someone had actually still been looking for them, Castle would have given them away ages ago. But then he turned to her with such a soft look in his eyes that it knocked the breath out of her.

"You like James Bond?"

"I uh...I've seen a few movies. Read a couple books. There's a new Bond movie coming out later this year, too, isn't there?"

Castle's lips curved into a smile but he didn't say anything, just watched her.

"What?" she asked at length, a higher inflection sneaking into the word.

He shook his head lightly, gave a small shrug. "You just...never cease to surprise me, Beckett. That's all."

Her lips pursed with a compressed smile and she bumped her arm into his. "Well, stick around awhile, Castle. I'd be happy to surprise you some more."

He grinned back at her, but once the elevator doors opened and they headed back for the lobby of the ICU to check in and be let back inside, the beaming looks on both of their faces were instantly wiped clean off. The nurse at the reception desk was both on the phone and waving them over frantically as a security guard was standing by.

Even without them saying anything to her, with a sick sense of dread in her gut, Kate knew.

Something had happened to her mother.

* * *

_1. I'm very sorry for how late this chapter is. It was written at least a month ago but when I got the flu I forgot all about posting fic. I hope the length and content of the chapter makes up for its tardiness and regular update intervals will start again from here.  
_

_2. SuperpowerFest does not exist, that I know of. I made it up. In researching Stanford's academic calendar for future reference with dates in this story, I found that winter quarter typically starts the first week of January. So how to explain why Kate was home the weekend her mom was murdered? New York Comic Con did not exist until 2006 and the fictional SupernovaCon on the show presumably occurs in October. So, my lamely titled SuperpowerFest was born! I hear it was popular with fans of rejected shows like Nebula-9, and its existence probably lasted about as long as the show itself did..._

_As always, thoughts and reviews are most appreciated. Thank you for supporting this fic!_


	8. Chapter 8

Kate made a mad dash for her mother's room as soon as they'd been admitted inside the ICU, despite the security guard requesting beforehand that they both stay with him as they entered. As the older man yelled after her, Kate took off at high speed and Castle had to shake off the pudgy guard and sprint as fast as he could in order to keep up with her. In the end, it didn't matter, as she was stopped from getting anywhere near her mother by two nurses that exited the room just as they had approached.

All they knew so far was that Johanna Beckett had suffered a suspicious overdose, and no one could explain why or how. Not yet.

At some point during their lunch down in the cafeteria, Johanna's heartbeat had slowed to a dangerous rate, and eventually she went into respiratory distress. Nurses and doctors rushed into her room not even ten minutes before they'd arrived back from the cafeteria, only to find Johanna lethargic, struggling to breathe, and losing consciousness. It was evident that the machines and tubing in her room had been tampered with, and even the pulse oximeter attached to her fingertip had been removed and tossed to the floor, smashed beneath a heavy foot.

Given that an attempt had been made on her life in the days prior, and with foul play suspected now, they were told that security was about to review surveillance footage to check for anyone unauthorized entering the room during the time that they had been away. The police had also been notified and were enroute, as well as Kate's father, who was said to be on his way over from work.

As for Kate's mother, the doctors were still working on Johanna.

A frantic Kate asked the nurses if she could go be with her mom, but the nursing staff was adamant. She was not to be allowed inside until the doctors said otherwise. She would only be a distraction and get in their way.

When one of the women suggested that they go wait in a nearby staff lounge, Kate's hostile refusal the leave the hallway outside of her mom's room resulted in Castle having to drag her against her will into the empty room, kicking and screaming at him to let her go. When he finally set her down, both of them were breathing heavily and Castle had to block the door with his body to keep her from trying to run back out. Refusing to move out of her way had Kate lunging at him, gripping his open jacket violently at his collarbones and shoving her clenched fists into his chest. His back hit the door with a resounding thud, but still Castle would not budge.

"Castle, move!"

"Kate, no..."

"She's my _mother_. You have to let me out there! I have to be with her!"

"You _can't_."

The finality of the tone of his voice shook her to her core. Her lips started to tremble and her fingers tensed against his jacket. Castle himself could feel his own body start to shake with anxiety, not only because of Johanna's unknown condition, but because he had no idea how to comfort her distraught daughter, who was growing more and more upset by the second. It was killing him to watch her wage a war with both himself, and with the swirl of dark thoughts and emotions that were threatening to consume her and swallow her whole.

But with Castle stubbornly standing his ground, it didn't take much more than two minutes before Kate's anger started to dissipate into broken, pleading sobs directed at him instead.

"Castle, please. Don't. I can't...I have to..."

"Kate..."

He reached his hands up to cover hers on his chest, squeezing gently, but she recoiled at his touch. She pulled her hands away so quickly, it was as though the touch of his skin had just burned hers. The frightened, feral look in her eyes scared the shit out of him, but still he wouldn't move. He couldn't. He knew what the symptoms of an overdose were. He'd researched it, written it, seen it for himself for a writer's perspective and authenticity. Nevermind the fact that she'd get in the way of the doctors; someone had just tried to kill Johanna Beckett again. There was no way he could let her out there to see her mother like that. Not as she was right now, unconscious and fighting for her life. Kate would be scarred for life.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Kate. But you have to stay here. You have to let them do their job."

Castle stepped into her space, reached for her again, and this time he held onto her trembling hands firmly, not letting her go. He aligned his line of sight with hers and met her eyes with a tender, unwavering gaze.

"Please, Kate. _Please_. I don't want to fight you. I know you're scared but you can't go out there. There's nothing we can do. The doctors know what they're doing. You have to let them help her."

She took in his words and a moment later, the look on her face crumpled as the dam broke and her emotions flowed free. Someone may as well have sucker punched Castle in the gut. It all had the same effect, seeing Kate Beckett break down and cry. Her jaw clenched, her lips quivered, her entire body was shaking, and hot, wet tears streamed down her beautiful, sorrowful face.

"Someone's trying to kill my mom," she sobbed brokenly, taking a shaky hold of the lapels of Castle's jacket and pulling herself fully into his chest, her face burrowing into his sternum. He could feel the damp heat of her tears soaking through the fabric of his shirt, reaching his skin underneath as she continued to cry.

In that moment, Kate Beckett wasn't the strong, confident young woman he'd spent much of the morning and early afternoon chatting and laughing and joking around with. That Kate was gone now. She'd instead turned into a wounded little girl before his eyes, her world crashing down around her, absolutely terrified of losing her mother.

Castle did what only came naturally to him, and he held her to his body, his arms enveloping her, both of them wrapped securely at her waist and shoulders as he gently rocked her back and forth. He held a palm steady on the back of her head as she tucked in beneath his chin, and instinctively he started rubbing circles on her back with his other hand, trying to soothe her, ease her fears.

"The doctors are with her and this place will be swarming with cops soon," he murmured softly. "She's safe now, Kate. They're going to fix her up and she's going to be fine, okay? She's going to be just fine."

He felt her take in a sharp breath of air and gulp it down, and she shook her head against his chest.

"You don't know that," she cried, her voice raspy and barely above a whisper. "He came after her a second time. I _know _he did. And we don't even know who this guy is. What's to stop him from trying again? What if we can't protect her and she—"

"Kate."

Castle pulled back slowly from her, holding her just far enough away so that he could look at her face clearly. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy, her cheeks wet and tear-stained, and as she looked up at him despondently, another tear escaped from her eye and started making the trek down her cheekbone. He reached up with his hand then, cupping her cheek in his palm and allowing his thumb to brush away that falling tear, not unlike how he'd done all those days ago.

But unlike that emotional night they'd first met, there were no interruptions this time. He kept his hand in place, holding her, and rubbed soothing circles against her soft skin with that deliberate thumb.

"I don't know what's going on, or who this person is that's trying to harm your mother, but I promise you, Kate. We'll figure this out. I...I have connections. I know some people. Whatever is going on and whoever is behind this...if the police don't figure it out, we will, Kate. We will."

Kate took a shuddering breath in, and leaned into his hand, her eyes falling shut against the heat of his palm. One of her hands came up to cover his and hold him there, though she didn't at all need to. He wasn't going anywhere. He would never leave her. He couldn't possibly.

What was it she had said, just before they parted on that first night they met?

_Just...castles are protected, you know? Once you're inside, they make you feel safe. Like nothing will get to you._

"I'm your Castle, right?"

Her eyes fluttered open at his words and darted straight to his, her lower lip still trembling as she watched him speak.

"So let me protect you, Kate. Let me keep you safe. You and your mom, too."

In the blink of an eye, her body surged up into his. Standing on the very tip of her toes, Kate wound her arms tightly around his neck, and the quick motion caused Castle to stagger backward a few steps as their bodies collided. He curled his arms around her torso and simply held her until the wave of emotion crested and she started to settle.

"I'm so scared," she murmured against the soft skin beneath his ear, and the depth of fear laced in that statement just about split his heart clean in two.

"I know. But I'll be right here with you, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

But then Kate remembered Castle's daughter. She was at school, wasn't she? That's was the reason they hadn't gone anywhere far for lunch. He couldn't stay here with her. He had to go to his daughter.

"Alexis," Kate whispered brokenly, his little girl's name the only thing she could manage to say between stifling her sobs.

Castle smiled softly, touched by her concern about his daughter even given the circumstances.

"I've still got time. School doesn't let out until two thirty-five." Castle gentled her with a hand at her lower back and said, "Come on. Let's go sit over here."

Kate sniffled away the moisture still building in her nostrils, and wiped at her eyes after she released him. With Castle's soft touch at her back guiding her to a nearby sofa in the room, she slowly sat down and sank into the cushions. As soon as Castle sat down beside her, he angled his body toward her, his arm resting along the back of the furniture and beckoning her forward. She didn't hesitate at all. Kate slid closer across the cushions and nestled herself into the shelter of his arms again, her cheek falling into place along his shoulder as she burrowed into the crook of his neck.

She'd never felt so comforted, so safe before. Not since she was a young child and it was her parents instead who held her so close, whispered soothing words into her ears as they calmed whatever deep fears she held about the world. She'd eventually grown to a point where she refused to be coddled any longer, and stubbornly chose to face everything head on. It worked for her in life thus far, made her a stronger person. She was more capable, more brave.

But nothing could have ever prepared her for a blow like this. Someone out there was trying to _kill her mother_.

The thoughts only served to remind her that as much as she had needed this same sort of comfort on the night that her mother was stabbed, her dad was so lost in his own darkness over the situation that he was barely even there for her at all. Even at the hospital, it had been Castle looking after her, not her father.

"My dad was a wreck that night," she confided to Castle at length, after a few minutes of just soaking up his warmth, breathing in his cologne and that heady aroma that was all him. It had a calming effect on her, his scent. Her voice was stronger now, though still soft. Subdued.

Castle didn't make any move to comment or ask for more details from her. He just held her as he waited for her to continue. Soon enough, she gathered her words and she did.

"When Mom was stable and we finally made it home, he couldn't even sleep. When I woke up, I found him with bloodshot eyes, nursing a drink at seven in the morning." She sighed, an almost strangled breath escaping her. "He rarely ever drinks, Castle."

Truth be told, Castle had gone through somewhat of a similar experience. He'd finally nodded off after the adrenaline of the evening wore off, but he was up again in a few short hours, shaking from his first nightmare. The allure of alcohol to burn it all away had been far too tempting.

He refrained from telling that to Kate, however. It's not like it had helped him anyway. Not as much as writing about his unnamed female heroine who bore that striking resemblance to the girl he held in his arms.

Oh, who was he kidding? She _was _Kate. The character he had been writing during those late hour sessions was _all _Kate, and she'd gotten him through every single nightmare he'd suffered through since Saturday night.

"Sometimes people cope with traumatic events in anomalous ways. It's everything we can do to put one foot in front of the other until things feel okay again."

He heard Kate sniffle once as she nodded her head against him, and she reached up with her hand again to wipe at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"I just- I worry about him, you know? My mom...she couldn't believe I took a leave of absence from school, and then my dad was talking about taking time off from work, but he's got this case going right now and she told him 'Don't you dare. Those people need you, Jim.' I don't know if she's even seen it yet, how this has all affected him. She even threatened to have the hospital ban him from visiting her if he didn't go into work on Monday morning."

"Your dad's a lawyer, too?"

Kate hummed an affirmative in response. "That's how they met. Working together."

Castle nodded his head in understanding and pondered for a moment.

"Well, maybe she's trying to keep his mind off of the negative thoughts by keeping him occupied at work and helping other people. Doing some good in the world," he offered, shrugging his shoulders.

Kate let out a little laugh that made him breathe out a relieved breath of air he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.

"That sounds like her, actually," Kate went on. "She's such a workaholic. Always putting others' needs before her own."

Castle smiled, knowing full well the depth of that selflessness firsthand. He'd seen it in Johanna Beckett the very night she was attacked in that alleyway. How someone could want to kill such a kind-hearted, selfless human being was beyond him. It just didn't make any sense.

"Why is someone trying to kill her, Castle?" Kate wondered aloud, her question a reflection of his own thoughts as though she'd read his mind. And maybe she had. They seemed to have this inexplicable connection between them from the moment they'd first met. Hell, the proof of that connection was sitting right here on the sofa, with her nestled into his arms and baring her soul to him. By all accounts, they were basically still strangers to one another, but the level of trust and the bond they had forged so quickly cemented them together. He didn't want to leave her side, not while she was dealing with all of this, and it was clear to him that her father wasn't dealing well himself.

Suddenly it was so much clearer to him now, the deeper reason that was perhaps why they had been so drawn together from the start. A mutual shroud of darkness in their lives.

Castle had been struggling after his divorce. He was lonely, broken-hearted and miserable, and he was always goofing off, getting into trouble, and doing stupid things that either got him arrested, put him in danger, or all of the above. And then there was Kate. She'd gotten into the school of her dreams, was probably having the time of her life in college, and what was supposed to be a pleasant Saturday evening out with her parents had instead taken a nightmarish turn that had only gotten progressively worse as of today.

She needed someone so badly to be there for her that night, and to be there for her today, and he was the only one she had. He was there for her in her darkest hour, and that's why she'd clung to him that night, why she had forsaken his given name and instead chosen to dub him her stronghold, her 'Castle.' It's why she'd gone home and thrown herself into his book. Why she was so thrilled to see him again when he'd arrived only hours before. She needed him, just as he needed her, too.

They were two lost, broken souls finding each other amidst the darkness of their lives.

He was destined to meet her. It was fate, he decided. It had to be.

"What could she possibly have done to make someone want her dead?"

Castle recognized it was a rhetorical question, but it pained him that he didn't have an answer for her. That he couldn't solve that mystery. And even if he did, it wouldn't calm her anxious thoughts right now. Not while she was still in the dark about her mother's condition.

So instead, Castle curled his other arm across them both, and he threaded his fingers through the silky, dark brown hair at the nape of her neck. He both heard and felt it when she let out a deep sigh under his gentle ministrations at the base of her skull. Then, Castle settled his cheek down at the crown of her head, his nose buried in her hair, his lips falling just shy of touching the soft skin of her forehead. That kiss they'd nearly gone for earlier in the day seemed like an eternity ago now, and he realized in the moment that, right now, Kate Beckett didn't need someone pursuing her. What they had together...it was special. Precious. They'd both found some solid ground in each other, and there was no way Castle was going to ruin it by making repeat mistakes and rushing things that needed to be fostered, nurtured, allowed to grow.

As Kate readjusted herself and nuzzled into him, lifting her own arm to rest the palm of her hand on his forearm, holding Castle in place, he thought that maybe she had realized the same thing, and felt the same way, too.

Wherever this was headed, there was time enough to figure it out later. For now, they'd just _be, _together, supporting each other, and they'd get through their traumas in their own anomalous way.

And it's in that position on the sofa, wrapped up in each other's arms, that Jim Beckett would find them together a short few minutes of peaceful silence later, when the door swung open and Kate's father called out her name.

* * *

_That cliffhanger last chapter was awful of me so I'm posting this one now. Don't worry. I didn't keep Johanna alive just to kill her off again. I've actually grown quite fond of the character I've painted in my mind._

_Thoughts, comments, and constructive criticisms on the chapter are always welcome. It is your commentary that allows me to write a better story and I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to leave me a review. Thank you._


	9. Chapter 9

"Katie."

Both of them looked up when Jim Beckett's breathless voice pierced through the quiet of the staff lounge. With the door still held slightly ajar at his shoulder, Kate's father stood unmoving at the end of the room, and though Castle had been startled by the man's sudden arrival, it was his physical appearance that took him even more by surprise. Jim's face was pale, as though he'd seen a ghost, and his eyes were filled with questions and images that undoubtedly spanned far beyond just the sight of his daughter in the arms of the novelist ten years her senior, a short number of feet in front of him.

Jim Beckett looked haggard and incredibly stressed-out. He was a total and complete mess.

"Dad," came Kate's answering reply, a soft, trembling thing, and she slowly untangled herself from the cocoon of Castle's arms. No sooner had he relinquished his hold on her than she was on her feet, jogging across the room and barreling into her father instead.

Castle sat quietly and watched the scene unfold before him with rapt attention.

"Katie," Jim breathed out again, his arms wrapping around his daughter so tightly that the hug was sure to be bruising. "God, Katie. What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know," she replied, her voice quaking with emotion and uncertainty. "I was- We were only gone thirty minutes, Dad. Forty at the most. She was fine, Dad. She was _fine_. She told us go eat, but then when we came back..."

As her voice trailed off, the tears started anew. When Castle heard the hitching of her breath again, the choked sobs of her crying, he felt as though his chest had been cracked open, his heart ripped out and tossed carelessly onto the floor.

Seeing her in so much pain, and being helpless to do anything about it, wounded him deeply. Far deeper than he would have ever imagined possible. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her again, hold her close and whisper away her tears.

But he couldn't anymore. It was no longer his place.

Her father was here now, and if the conversation they'd had before taught him anything, it was that Kate Beckett's father needed his daughter just as much as she needed him during this time of anguish and uncertainty. Aside from Johanna, all they had was each other, and when it came down to it, Castle was still a mere acquaintance to this family.

He was there for her when she needed him, but now it was time for him to let father and daughter support one another as they hadn't the night this all started. There was an unspoken wound there that needed to heal, and he intended to let it do so, uninhibited by his presence.

Standing up, Castle smoothed out the wrinkles in his shirt, noting that Kate's tears still lightly dampened the fabric against his chest, and he slowly made his way for the door.

"I've uh...I've got to get going. Alexis' class will be let out shortly," he said quietly, hoping that he could make his exit as undisruptive to Kate and her father as possible.

But then Kate pulled back from her father to turn to Castle. She looked upon him with such a fragile, pleading expression, the forest green depths of her gorgeous eyes speaking readily to him while her opening and closing mouth failed to successfully produce any of her thoughts or words.

But it was okay. Castle understood.

Halting his steps, he was struck with an idea, and he reached into an inner pocket of his jacket, retrieving a small, moleskine notebook and a black fountain pen. As he scribbled quickly, Kate watched him with a curious, furrowed brow, and her father stood closely behind her, equally perplexed over the writer in front of them. Once he was finished, Castle then tore the page from the notebook and folded it until it was a small enough size to easily fit in the palm of his hand. After tucking away his notebook and pen, Castle reached out to take one of Kate's hands within his own. He curled her fingers around the folded paper before cradling her closed palm with both of his.

She looked down at their hands first, feeling the firmness of his grip as his fingers enclosed her own, the warmth of his skin encompassing hers, before lifting her soft, questioning expression up to meet his tender gaze.

He spoke earnestly, his eyes never once leaving hers.

"This is my cell phone number. A direct line straight to me, and only me. If you need _anything_, anything at all, even if it's just to talk, you call me. Day or night, okay? Doesn't matter. I'll answer."

Kate's throat worked as she swallowed dryly at the lump forming in it, and with a tremble still present in both her lower lip and her voice, she nodded her head.

"Okay," she replied softly.

"Tell your mom thank you for the lunch, and that I'm sorry I couldn't stick around long enough to thank her properly, will you?"

He tried to insert as much lightness and optimism to his voice as possible without being inappropriate, and as his lip slightly curled to yield a smile, he could see the corners of Kate's mouth lift just a little in a smile of her own.

"Yeah," she murmured back to him. "I'll do that."

Castle released her hands with a gentle squeeze, and acknowledged Jim Beckett over Kate's shoulder with a short nod of his head and a friendly smile. The older man could only blink back at him with a furrowed brow, his eyes continually wanting to stray back down to the slip of paper that now rested in his daughter's hand.

As Castle moved to make his way through the door, Kate called out to him.

"Castle?"

He hummed in response, angling his head back toward her.

"Thank you."

"I'll see you," he replied with a smile, then slipped out the door to head out and go get his little girl.

* * *

It would be another hour before Kate and her father would be allowed in to see Johanna again, and another hour after that before she really came back around enough to be up for talking. The NYPD had questioned her to no avail—she had no memory of anything unusual happening, and honestly thought that she might have even been asleep when it all occurred hours earlier. Kate was called aside for questioning by the detectives working her mother's case but, just like her mom, she hadn't seen anyone suspicious during the time she'd been either with her mother, or just walking through the ICU with or without Castle at her side. They would be sending someone over to his loft to question him as well, though Kate didn't think it would make any difference.

Even surveillance footage had been a bust. Whoever was responsible for what happened to Johanna Beckett, they went to great lengths over the past several days to plan out their next attack. The person had both blended in and concealed their identity while in the hospital, and disabled cameras during a ten minute time period in every place that might have been able to pick up a clear picture of their face while in the ICU.

They were basically back to square one again. No answers for who was responsible for Johanna Beckett's stabbing, and nothing to show for the overdose she'd suffered either, which was suspicious in itself. If they'd wanted her dead via intravenous drugs, there were plenty of options and heavy doses that could have been administered to her in order to effectively kill her, or leave her beyond the brink of salvation.

Was this time a warning? Or had they gotten spooked, and got the hell out of dodge before being about to finish the job again?

Regardless of the actuality of the situation, while Kate was intensely thankful that her mother had pulled through and was recovering again, she couldn't shake the tremor in her bones that something serious was going on here, and that she didn't know all of the facts yet, either.

Why would someone go after her mother's life in the first place? From what she had learned since Saturday night, the NYPD had only been looking at the attack like it had been nothing more than random gang violence. Now, there was no question in her mind: it wasn't some random, wayward event. A man deliberately attacked her with the intent to kill on January 9th and now, only days later, he must have come back to finish the job that Castle had interrupted.

But what clued her in even more on the seriousness of the situation, was when Kate returned to her mother's room after speaking with a detective. As she approached, she could hear her mother and father quietly arguing amongst each other in hushed whispers. Something about a case she was working.

"_Pulgatti_," her mother said. Pulgatti's appeal.

A case? Her attack had to do with her job?

Her mother was a civil rights attorney. Could she have gotten caught up in a case and stumbled upon something she shouldn't have? Was killing her the way they planned to silence her?

As Kate stopped just outside the door and continued to listen, she could hear her father objecting, and begging his wife to tell the police what she knew. To drop the appeal before it was too late.

"No, Jim," her mother protested, her voice still weak and so obviously groggy. "Don't you see? This means I was right! Joe Pulgatti was telling the truth. He didn't kill Bob Armen in that alley. There _was _a cover up. They're _still _trying to cover it up by getting rid of me."

Jim Beckett let out a harsh exhale, and then Kate heard a tone of voice from her father that she'd never before in her life heard out of him before. It was desperate, angry, and fear-laden, and sounded too much like an ultimatum to her ears.

"Damn it, Johanna. The file you requested is _gone. _You have _nothing _to go on, andno idea how far up this goes. Is your pursuit of the truth and setting a mob enforcer free more important to you than your own family? Your own _life_?"

"Jim," her mother's voice trailed off soberly, and then Kate couldn't stand there idly by listening any longer. They'd been keeping this information from her for days. From the police, even.

No more. She wouldn't be kept in the dark. Not a chance.

"Who the hell is Bob Armen? Or Joe Pulgatti?"

As Kate swung into the room, both of her parents turned startled eyes on her, mouths agape and floundering for replies.

"Katie," Johanna started, a weak smile across her lips and an innocence and nonchalance to her feeble voice that set her daughter even more on edge.

"No, don't even start," she interjected, and then held up her hand, forefinger and thumb raised, pointed in her father's direction as if to stop his bogus explanation before it could even start as well.

"I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't need protecting, I need the truth, and you need to stop hiding things from me. If there's something going on with this case you're working on and they're trying to kill you, I want to know. I _deserve _to know. Everything."

"Katie, please. You have to understand, it's too dangerous," her mother explained. "The less you know the better right now."

"_Better_? The hell it is!"

At her outburst, her parents both went silent, her father bending forward in his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration as her mother worked her jaw and swallowed roughly.

Kate had always been her mother's daughter. Just as hardheaded, stubborn and willful, with a determination and perseverance that knew no bounds.

"You know I have nothing but the highest of respect for what you do, Mom. How you help other people. It's why I worked so hard to get into Stanford. Why I've been shooting for law school, and wanting to become a lawyer. I wanted to be just like you and more. But _this_?" she gestured with her hands out toward her mother; her body, the bed, the machines; the room and hospital itself.

"It's not worth it. There has to be another way. Some other alternative to investigate the case and figure out what really happened, and that doesn't endanger your life anymore like this. You're just a lawyer, Mom. You don't have the protection that law enforcement does."

As she talked, Kate gradually started to lose her momentum, her voice falling and taking on that damnable weak tremble again. Her jaw clenched but she stubbornly pushed forward, despite all of the emotion overcoming her.

"Please," she told her mother, with glistening eyes and a watery smile. "I can't lose you, Mom."

Tears staining her own cheeks now, Johanna Beckett lifted her unsteady arms and beckoned her daughter forward. Kate fell into her mother's embrace, and her father wrapped his arms around the both of them as his own tears leaked from his eyes.

"Okay, sweetheart," Johanna murmured. "Okay."

* * *

It was a quarter after eight in the evening when the call came in to Castle's phone.

A detective had arrived at his doorstep to ask questions he had no answers to around three-thirty, and from the time after the man had left and up until the moment he'd tucked Alexis in for the night, his mind never strayed too far away from Kate Beckett. His thoughts were on a constant loop of memories circling around the girl he'd held in his arms earlier in the day.

He was just finishing up washing dinner dishes in the kitchen when he heard his phone start to ring. As he wiped his soapy hands off with a nearby dish towel, he leaned over and peered down at his phone on the kitchen bar to take a look at the Caller ID. It was an unknown number.

Reaching for his phone, his heart skipped a beat.

"Hello?" he answered tentatively.

There was silence at first, then a soft breath, and as he waited with his own bated breath, finally that angelic voice of hers transmitted from his phone.

Kate.

"...Castle?"

Her voice was so delicate, so airy, like she was trying to keep quiet as she spoke into the phone.

"Kate," he breathed out. "Hi."

"Are you...busy? I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

"No, no," he responded quickly. "Not at all."

"Okay, good."

An awkward silence followed, each of their breaths being the only audible sound over the line, and so Castle took the initiative.

"How's your mom?"

"Exhausted, but resting well. They have two guards posted outside her door now and only a short list of hospital personnel that is allowed into her room."

"Good. That's good."

"Yeah."

There was another short pause and Castle wondered what the purpose of her call was. Not that he minded hearing from her, but so far she was only speaking when prompted to answer his questions. She was not really making conversation on her own.

"Are _you _okay, Kate?"

She sighed first, and then honestly, "No. But I'm getting there."

"What happened? After I left, I mean."

Another sigh, this one harsher than the last. "God, Castle. I don't even know where to start."

"Okay, do you like coffee?"

Silence on her end, and then, "What?"

"Coffee. You know, the beverage. Loaded with caffeine, most people can't live without it."

"Castle, I know what coffee is."

"Yes, I figured you would. But do you _like _it?"

Even by just the pauses and delay of her responses, and her voice itself, Castle could easily picture her sitting there, perhaps in her bed at home with the phone to her ear, face adorably scrunched in confusion as his seemingly random question flustered her.

It made him smile to himself.

"I...guess? I mean, I'm not hooked on the stuff or anything but I enjoy a latte now and then."

"Great. How about we go grab a coffee sometime in the next couple of days? After you've had some time to digest whatever's swirling around in your head."

Now he could hear the smile in her voice when she agreed to it. "I'd like that."

"How about Friday? There's a Starbucks around the corner from Bellevue on 2nd. I can meet you there after I drop Alexis off at school. Eleven or so?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Alright then. Starbucks. Friday. Eleven. Don't stand me up, Beckett. You'll hurt my feelings."

Was it possible to hear an eyeroll? Or in the very least sense one? Because he was picking up a very perceptible eyeroll vibe for a second there.

"Don't worry, Castle," Kate responded, this time with a little amusement to her voice. "I wouldn't dream of hurting your fragile heart."

"Hey now, I'll have you know my heart is not fragile. A little tender at times, maybe, but this muscle is beating strong in my chest."

"Mine too," came Kate's soft reply.

It took him a moment to catch her meaning, but once he did, his heart really started to pound in his chest. He didn't even know how to respond to that.

Fortunately, she didn't leave him with much of an opportunity to.

"I'll see you on Friday, Castle," she told him, and then the line clicked off.

Coffee with Kate on Friday.

The day couldn't come fast enough.

* * *

_Judging by what's been said in reviews, I know a lot of you were expecting some Papa Bear Beckett at the beginning of this chapter. Given the circumstances with his wife, I didn't find that to be very realistic when I wrote it. Other things on his mind and all. But trust me, Jim's feelings about Castle getting closer to Kate will be revisited again in the near future, and in case this chapter didn't hint at it for you: no, he does not approve._

_Also I would like to mention that time will start progressing a little faster from here on out, and no, Johanna's case will not be featured more prominently. This is a Castle/Beckett romance fic, and their relationship will remain at the forefront :)_

_As always, thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. I love and appreciate hearing all of your thoughts, and always keep an open mind with your likes, gripes and suggestions._


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